Germany''s Russia Problem: The Struggle for Balance in Europe

The relationship between Germany and Russia is Europes most important link with the largest country on the continent. But despite Germanys unparalleled knowledge and historical experience, its policymakers struggle to accept that Moscows efforts to rebalance Europe at the cost of the cohesion of the EU and NATO are an attack on Germanys core interests. This book explains the scale of the challenge facing Germany in managing relations with a changing Russia. It analyses how successive German governments from 1991 to 2014 misread Russian intentions, until Angela Merkel sharply recalibrated German and EU policy towards Moscow. The book also examines what lies behind efforts to revise Merkels bold policy shift, including attitudes inherited from the GDR and the role of Russian influence channels in Germany. See more