Dear reader, In this issue of our magazine we have tried to observe German foreign policy from different angles, observing its global and European, as well as its Balkan discourse, with the ultimate aim of bringing Bosnia and Herzegovina within that system of values. For obvious reasons, we have given most of the space to our German colleagues. Egon Bahr, one of the key policy strategists in Germany, explains the possibility of a new position for the European Union in a multipolar world, with an emphasis on Germany’s role in it. Our colleague Britta Joerissen, who is an expert for the Balkans in the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, concludes that there is no alternative to the integration of the Balkans in the EU has, so she recommends to German politicians not to remove the Balkans from the list of priorities in their foreign policy agendas. Bodo Weber, a sociologist who is very familiar with the developments in BiH, writes a letter from Berlin explaining how he sees the complex situation of BiH nowadays, offering an objective, critical yet not unoptimistic answer. In his text he deals with the causes of disaster that befell the society of BiH and spares no one of his criticism: neither Germany, the international community, nor, for that matter, the local „ethnonationalist oligarchy“. In the previous issue, we dealt with Bosnia and Herzegovina in the context of changes in the American policy and weaknesses in the EU policies. It seemed logical to continue with the German foreign policy that symbolises today, or at least that is how it appears, a great ambition and hope in the healing of those European weaknesses. Moreover, without the active engagement of Germany, it would be difficult to see an improvement of the systemic errors of global multilateralism, particularly evident in the Kyoto Convention, WTO, UN and NATO. The EU Presidency, the chairmanship of the Group of eight economically most developed countries of the world (G-8); of the biggest peace contingent in BiH and Kosovo; the Commander-in-Chief of EUFOR in BiH; the High Representative in BiH; significant peace engagement in Afghanistan; a very active diplomatic engagement concerning the solution of the Iranian nuclear crisis and the future status of Kosovo; from next year German aid to the developing countries will be increased by 750 million Euros a year. With all these facts in mind, a text written by one of our members tries to find answers to the dilemma debated by Germans these days – is this all just a coincidence or is it about the ambitions of a new German foreign policy? Or else, did the circumstances simply impose these challenges upon Germany? What is the role that Germany must (needs to) play globally? We are not offering ultimate answers but rather invite you to continue searching for them together. For the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is still greatly dependent on international interventionism, these are far from irrelevant issues. Relations within the EU, as well as global relations, are a direct reflection of the coherency of the international community’s mandate in BiH. The clarity and dynamic of the exit strategy of the international community from BiH will depend on them. Ownership in BiH will not happen overnight. Time is needed, alongside the clear mandate and partnership of the international community and its institutions. It took Germany decades to build its Ownership; it did it slowly and patiently and, in that effort, it had strong and resolute partners. The experience of our German friends could be of help so that after the Partnerships for Peace, we could “enter” into the Partnership for Ownership. Geard Hoefer, a member of the Defence and Security Committee of FR German Bundestag, stated, in a brief interview he gave to our magazine, that he considers that the key conditions for the creation of this Partnership for Ownership have been met. He thinks that the security situation in BiH is stable, and that now the time has come for us all to dedicate ourselves to an upgrading effort focused on reforming the police and Constitution. We rely on your understanding of the fact that some events occurred more quickly than our
Foreign Policy Review – year 2, issue 2
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