Zeitschrift: Internationale Politik und Gesellschaft

From: Snapshot-Content-Location: https://www.fes.de/ipg/arc_07_d/03_07_d/r_3_07_1.htm Subject: Zeitschrift: Internationale Politik und Gesellschaft Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2026 14:24:40 +0100 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; type="text/html"; boundary="----MultipartBoundary--I2XUTO3WpVCrQjxQxIA9OTFRFOOIoz6JBHksd8Ofzy----" ------MultipartBoundary--I2XUTO3WpVCrQjxQxIA9OTFRFOOIoz6JBHksd8Ofzy---- Content-Type: text/html Content-ID: Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: https://www.fes.de/ipg/arc_07_d/03_07_d/r_3_07_1.htm Zeitschrift: Internationale Politik und Gesellschaft =20 =20 =20 =20 = =20 = =20 <= td class=3D"text"> =20 <= td class=3D"text" height=3D"25">

HERMANN KURTHEN / A= NTONIO V. MEN=C9NDEZ-ALARC=D3N / STEFAN IMMERFALL (eds.):
Safeguarding German-American Relations in the New Century =96
Understanding and Accepting Mutual Differences

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Heft 3/2007

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Lanham 2006
Lexington Books, 292 S.

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Following the 9/11 attacks, German-U.S. relation= s have deteriorated into some of the most negative stereotypes and misperceptions seen in the last d= ecades. Safeguarding German-American Relations in the New Century, a compilation of essa= ys edited by Hermann Kurthen, Antonio V. Men=E9ndez-Alarc=F3n, and Ste= fan Immerfall, attempts to dissect the origins and consequences of this rapidly in= tensifying alienation. One of the most interesting features of this interdisci= plinary study, which employs perspectives by political scientists, historians, and= experts in international relations, is its ambitious attempt to examine tensions in both the= upper echelons of policy-making as well as the broader population. Conten= ding that the future of German-U.S. relations depends on an intersection of polit= ical culture, historical experiences, competing memories of those experiences, an= d mutual stereotypes, the authors aim to highlight both the nature of present day differe= nces as well as common interests that potentially unify the two nations.= This book is successful in its goal of tracing different layers of social, polit= ical and cultural conflict that fuel German-U.S. divergence, and specialists as well as studen= ts of recent German history, political science and international relations will = find considerable interest in debating its arguments and implications.

The introduction effectively synthesizes the ideas found in twelve = different essays by leading scholars into a unified argument. America=92s fun= damental changes in strategy since 9/11 toward a policy of fighting two wars without= substantial regard to its traditional alliances or UN approval is pushing Germa= ny towards a search for alternative partners and alliances unless both nations a= ctively work to rejuvenate their partnership. This recent development, according to= the authors, actually grows out of a simmering, more long-term problem. Though G= ermany and the U.S. share core values, including =9Brule of law,=8B =9Blib= erty,=8B equality,=8B =9Bdemocracy,=8B their interpretations of how to apply these values in the economy, ed= ucation, health care, and welfare differ dramatically. The authors place re= sponsibility for overcoming this =9Bdrifting apart=8B on both nations, calling u= pon the unilateralist and neo-conservative forces in the U.S. and the multilateral intere= sts in Western Europe to carefully assess what is at stake if they cannot overcome= miscalculations and misunderstandings.

The two major sections of the book =96 one dealing with the status = of international foreign policy and economic relations and the other focusing on dif= ferences in public perceptions that contribute to German-U.S. alienation =96= succeed in dealing with a broad range of themes while remaining cohesive. O= ne of the main ideas that links these essays is that strong social and cultur= al differences between Germany and the U.S. are unavoidable, but that this does not preclu= de the two countries from cementing common bonds. However, disagreement ar= ises over whether or not these commonalities can be easily reclaimed. Ko= nrad Jarausch stresses that while the US and Germany share common basic democrati= c values, attitudes toward the role of religion, protecting the environment, = and the necessity for war have diverged since the Reagan revolution and the rise of t= he EU, worsening rapidly since 9/11. While Jarausch seems optimistic that = more open dialogue can heal U.S.-German relations, Josef Braml suggests that = the influence of the evangelical Christian right in shaping American foreign poli= cy in the Middle East has created a deep political gap that may be impossible= to overcome.
These intensifying differences are reflected, as Volker Frank convi= ncingly argues, in radically different definitions of =9Bliberalism,=8B which is li= nked with Enlightenment- based ideals of human rights in Germany but wrapped in distracting,= politically divisive squabbling over the role of religion in society in America= . Stefan Immerfall, in contrast to Braml, predicts that common cultural conn= ections =96 namely ideals of =9Bdemocracy=8B and =9Bliberty=8B =96 will ultimat= ely prevail in healing misunderstandings that cloud essentially similar values.

The second section of the book concentrates on growing German-U.S. = misperceptions and differences found in education, historical memory and popular m= edia. The essays in this section suggest that overcoming growing ideologi= cal divides will be extremely challenging. Barbara Schmitter Heisler argues tha= t ideologically charged national stereotypes, in particular in scholarship on immig= ration, reflect widespread misperceptions of how each nation imagines the relations= hip between the state and civil society. Looking at broader public perceptions,= Monique Laney contrasts reportage on the war in Iraq, finding completely differen= t attitudes towards the term =9Bwar,=8B contributing to an ever deepening gap in percep= tions about military power that requires greater effort on each side to underst= and the differences in perspective. Gary Anderson provides an interesting way of unders= tanding the deeper causes of these different perspectives on the Iraq war w= ith his comparative essay on American and German collective memories of World War II. U= .S. conceptions of the =9Bgood war,=8B eliciting popular feelings of pr= ide and patriotism, in contrast to Germans=92 complex feelings of guilt and pessimistic= views of war create fundamental misunderstandings in how both nations appr= oach the current war in the Middle East. Anderson explores the ways in which these c= ollective memories are changing and becoming more complex, but predicts that = reconciliation will only be achieved if stereotypical memories are replaced over t= ime with more nuanced and realistic notions that eventually converge. In his= essay on the success of American filmmaker Michael Moore in Germany, Thomas Clar= k sheds some light on how these deep-seated perceptions are projected in th= e popular culture. Clark explains Moore=92s popularity in the context of Germ= ans=92 widespread negative stereotypes of America as dominated by violence, bigotry a= nd social inequality. At the same time, Clark sees the Moore phenomenon as evidence of optimism in which Moore confirms German stereotypes but also provid= es a sense of =9Bhope=8B that Moore represents a positive strain of democratic= activism in America that many Germans want in their own country, where deeper fears abo= ut the German economy and crisis in the welfare state lay just under the s= urface of criticism of American culture. Kurthen, Men=E9ndez-Alarc=F3n, and Immerfall o= ptimistically contend in their conclusion that a renewed transatlantic alliance c= ould be built on common global interests, including defending human rights,= solving energy problems, and protecting democratic institutions. But as lon= g as different interpretations of what is right, fair or just persist, and the U.S= . continues its unilateral approach to world affairs, the gaps between the two nations will co= ntinue to expand. Overcoming these isunderstandings can only be achieved b= y an active willingness on both sides to break through the stereotypes and esta= blish a more open dialogue that acknowledges common interests.

This book has a number of merits that should make it interesting an= d useful across disciplines. On one hand, the book=92s admirable goal of tra= cing both elite political affairs and public perceptions also presents a fundamenta= l challenge in untangling how these layers of perception interact. The introductio= n could expand further upon the symbiosis between public misperceptions and the po= litical misunderstandings that come out of these cultural trends. However, the editors of Safeguarding German-American Relations have conceived a timely and = important study of recent developments, and the individual essays analyze the= se high political and popular intersections of stereotypes with great insight. For hi= storians and political scientists seeking scholarship on the continuity and chan= ge between familiar Cold War-era tensions and present-day diplomatic and cultural confl= icts between Germany and the U.S., Safeguarding German-American Relation= s definitely fills this gap. From the perspective of a teacher, this book would = be extremely useful for engaging students in discussions German-U.S. perceptions= of each other at the dawn of the new century, and addressing ways in which both c= ultures might transcend stereotypes and old suspicions as they face the challenge= posed by war to their common values of human rights and democratic institutions.

Jason Crouthamel, Assistant Professor
History, Grand Valley State University, Michigan

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<< zur=FCck=20 Rezensionen/ =DCbersicht

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=A9 Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung	Redaktion/net edition: \| 8/2007	=20 Top

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