Publication details
German Involvement in UN peacekeeping Operation in Mali: A “Responsible Power”?
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| Year of publication | 2018 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| Citation | |
| Description | After the end of the World War II, Germany has positioned itself as a nation that holds “special responsibilities” towards the world peace. In recent years, German foreign and security policy has been hit by a new wave of “responsibility debate”, sparked by seminal speeches of Federal President Joachim Gauck, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen at the Munich Security Conference in 2014. These top German political representatives unanimously called for Germany to take on “more responsibility in the world” due to increasing security challenges. Since then, the word “responsibility” has become a hallmark of German foreign policy even more than before. An important dimension of this postulate has been the intention to increase German commitment to UN peacekeeping which soon after materialized in the form of German participation in UN peacekeeping operation in Mali (MINUSMA). The extent of German presence in MINUSMA is exceptional not only in comparison to previous German troop contributions under the UN flag but also in regard to other European countries – German contingent in MINUSMA is by far the largest. In this sense, German willingness to boost its UN peacekeeping participation can be understood as an exemplary step towards meeting its international responsibilities. The proposed paper aims to look in greater detail at the role “responsibility” plays in the motivation of Germany to contribute troops to Mali and to contrast it with other motives that might have been be relevant for German decision to support MINUSMA. |
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