Tim Zahn

Paradox of German Foreign and Security Policy: With Respect to National Energy Security Tim Zahn

Publisher Marketing: For many countries, the finite nature of fossil fuels is a matter of significant security concerns. Producer and consumer countries alike increasingly see energy supply security as a subject of their security and defense policy. Being strategically prepared when market forces fail to balance contradictory interests becomes a necessity for many countries. Based on Germany's dependency on energy imports, a prerequisite for a prosperous transition to other sources of energy is to have effective tools of foreign and security policy ready at hand. In this context, the deep integration of German security and defense policy into multinational structures often seems to contradict the formulation of national security interests. Domestic discussions evolved around the question, which role the Bundeswehr as one element of German security policy should have in securing Germany's supply of fossil fuels and other natural resources. However, the discourse on the efficacy of German foreign and security policy in the context of energy supply security is a synonym for a much larger dilemma: the paradox of an administration struggling to achieve valuable national interests in an environment of value loaded divergent public perceptions. Values, interests, and perceptions are rooted in the ideals of Realism, Liberalism, and Constructivism. These political theories, although not fully explanatory, provide the normative framework for the research in this work. Based on either political theory or public survey data the monograph will identify two significant contradictory trends. First, that a perceived unfavorable personal economic situation results in an increased rejection of international military engagement is a specific behavioral phenomenon by large parts of the German population. Second, an increased acceptance of the use of hard power means in times of material needs is rooted in the mental model of post-materialist theory. The author concludes that in contrast to post-materialis