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ABSTRACT
Well before the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea and the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the bilateral relationship between Germany and Russia began to deteriorate. This article traces German-Russian relations since the end of the Cold War in order to identify the reasons for the deterioration of the bilateral relationship. It examines the key debates inside Germany about its Russia policy, suggesting when and why the terms of the debates changed.
KEYWORDS
Angela Merkel, foreign policy, German-Russian relations, Ostpolitik, Ukraine crisis, Vladimir Putin
For historical reasons, Germany and Russia are destined to have a special relationship.1
German-Russian relations since 2000 have turned from closeness and cordiality to disillusionment and disappointment.2
Over the last few years, however, we have observed an increasing alienation in bilateral relations, with both sides speaking about the same topics but nurturing different priorities and interests.3
The German-Russian relationship is, and has long been, a crucial element in the stability and prosperity of the region. The bilateral relationship in the post Cold War context, in stark contrast to earlier periods, has enjoyed certain advantages: there are no unresolved border disputes between the two countries, no ethnic or religious conflicts, and no competition for domination on the world stage.4 For several years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, German-Russian relations seemed to thrive, resembling some of the recondoiciliation steps taken previously by Germany and several former "enemy" nations.5 Foreign policy experts even spoke of a "special relationship,"6 in light of the deepening and widening of political, economic and socialcultural networks.7
Well before the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea and the conflict in Ukraine, the special relationship that Germany and Russia developed in the 1990s began to deteriorate. Referring to the epigraphs above, why this bilateral relationship turned "from closeness and cordiality to disillusionment and disappointment" and developed such "different priorities and interests" is the focus of this article. Of particular interest is how Germany understood the bilateral relationship and how it interpreted the decline leading up to the Ukraine crisis. To better understand the contours of the relationship, I examine the German foreign policy debates, and to a lesser extent, the public debate, about Russia, suggesting when and why the terms of the debates changed and what the implications of that...