Description
After 1990, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) attributed a special role to former Soviet Union and, after its dissolution, to the Russian Federation (RF) in its foreign policy. These discourses included two main groups of historical analogies. The first one was related to the Second World War experience and the FRG's responsibility for the war crimes. Whereas the second was linked to the experience of economic cooperation during the 'cold war'. The narratives are still powerful in German politics, when it comes to Russia and cooperation with Moscow in different sectors.
Against this background, it is necessary to look into following research questions:
1. Why is the issue of 'historical responsibility' toward Russia still influential FRG's foreign policy?
2. To what extent can the 'cooperative discourses' on cold war experience be treated as factors stimulating continuity in Germany's Russia policy?
3. Is there a potential of a narrative change within the historical plane of the FRG's foreign policy toward Russia?
The review of these topics enables to understand the nature of continuity within FRG's Russia policy after the German re-unification. The assessment is done basing on the methodology of foreign policy analysis reflecting the issue of 'analogical thinking' in foreign policy. Within the paper, key foreign policy documents and speeches of foreign policy decision-makers of the FRG with regard to Russia will be analyzed. On the results of this review, it will be determined to what extent the narratives on historical memory are powerful within the framework of Germany's Russia policy, and to what extent they could be assessed as cooperative ones.
Key words: Germany, Russia, foreign policy, continuity, analogical reasoning
