Orientacja transatlantycka w Niemczech w obliczu nowego otwarcia w stosunkach niemiecko-amerykańskich
Transatlantic orientation in Germany in the face of a new opening in German-American relations

Summary/Abstract: Belonging to the transatlantic security community is an axiom of German foreign policy. Germany has been able to maintain a stable position in the North Atlantic Alliance thanks to the transatlantic orientation of the main German political parties. The last decade has seen its erosion, exacerbated by the presidency of Donald Trump. Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election created an opportunity to revive transatlantic and German-American relations. The aim of the article is to diagnose the state of the transatlantic orientation in Germany in the face of US expectations and the Bundestag elections (09'2021), which may bring a change in the governing coalition. It was assumed that the quality of Germany's engagement in the new phase of its co-operation with the US depends on the condition of the transatlantic orientation. The official party positions and politicians' statements concerning the prospects of alliance co-operation were analyzed with regard to such issues as the future of the North Atlantic Alliance, the 'burden sharing' among allies and attitudes towards Russia and China. The thesis was formulated that although the German political parties CDU/CSU, FDP, SPD and the Greens (with the exception of Die Linke and AfD) are generally in favor of NATO, the low degree of convergence of opinions among individual parties as regards strengthening NATO security and the strategy towards Russia points to the modest potential of the transatlantic orientation and may indicate that it is in the process of decomposition.

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