As a nation in the center of the European continent, Germany and its immediate surrounding the densest concentration of wealth in the world. Its extensive navigable waterways and arable land give the country an edge in trade and commercial activities, yet for all its advantages of the country is utterly exposed to neighboring powers. For the past two centuries, these conditions have determined the geopolitics of Germany.
Located in Central Europe, The Federal Republic of Germany enjoys some of the best and worst of geography .The south of the country is defined by its mountainous terrain that is partially dominated by the Alps, while in the North exists A flat terrain that borders the Baltic and North seas, in addition, spread interchangeably throughout Germany, are vast fields of arable plateaus and rich forests yet perhaps the most distinguishable geographic feature is the dense concentration of navigable waterways. Germany hosts at least seven major rivers that are commercially navigable and they play an enormous role in the geo economic prospects of the country. For instance of the Rhine, which empties into the North Sea is north Europe's longest navigable river and the world's busiest internal waterway .The Rhine allows for the cost effective transportation of goods into the German inland. Along the river and its smaller tributaries are a host of major cities and commercial hubs . These waterways and their tributaries link major population hubs like Bremen, Hanover and Hamburg to the North Sea, while the Oder river in the East allows the Germans to reach the Baltic Sea. Then there is the Danube in the south which connects the industry city of Munich to the Black Sea. There are dozens more navigable rivers and canals, but a large demographic clusters along the ride Elbe, Vesser and Danube form Germany's Heartland. However much like the rivers of the heartland does not form a single unified compartment. There are instead multiple seats of power. For most of their history, the German Heartland territories developed separately until the country unified in 1871 Even then, national unity remains a fragile concept. Following the disastrous fallout of World War Two, the Germans were once again divided. This time, however, around the parameters of the Cold War. This situation lasted until 1990 when modern Germany finally reunified.Today Berlin is the most popular city and will have the most political power. However, in addition to the capital, there are political and economic seats of power in Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich and Hamburg. To maintain unity Germany as a whole is a federal entity. The result is that political power is widely decentralized and distributed across the country. This brings forth Berlin's first geopolitical objective, which is to ensure its territorial integrity by maintaining a complex political balance between the federal states within the country. More often than not, political unity is easier when there is an abundance of wealth. The Germany's extensive navigable waterways combined with its access to seaports and the country's central location in Europe, supported by a sophisticated infrastructure network practically guarantees that German industrial and agricultural surpluses enjoy much lower transportation costs. Ultimately, this gives the government in Berlin, a competitive edge in trade, which is why Germany is the third largest exporter in the world. And as a result, a prosperous nation. Taken together Germany's geographic grants and impeccable advantage in terms of trade, technology and communication, as well as the accumulation of massive amounts of capital from those activities. As such, Germany and the North European plane is home to the densest concentration of wealth in the world. This is why the Germans have always been able to swiftly recover from military conflicts. yet as remarkable as this sounds, Wealth is not evenly distributed across the country, according to Germany's Central Bank, the wealthiest 10% of the nation owns 63% of the assets, while the bottom 50% have less than 3% of the total wealth. The stark economic disparity is especially noticeable between the west and east of the country. For instance, in 2015, the state of Hamburg enjoys a GDP per capita of nearly $73,000, while that of Saxony was only $31,000. The disparity is most notable in East Germany, the 16 million Germans in the East including the capital contribute to 15% of the country's total GDP, while the western province of North Rhine Westphalia on its own accounts for 21% of the economy. The stark contrast between West and East Germany is partially due to the communist past and partially due to the layout of the rivers. More specifically, waterways in the West have better access to other capital rich ports and hubs in Western Europe, whereas the rivers in East Germany mostly have access to the underdeveloped Eastern European region. So the layout of the rivers makes the development of East Germany slightly more complicated than that of West Germany. This complex situation is Berlin's next objective, it must mitigate the regional inequalities to prevent social unrest. The government fulfills this task by distributing economic resources through a wide selection of social safety nets. As a result, the public doesn't necessarily feel the financial disparities. However, since nearly half of Germany's GDP derives from exports Berlin's generous social policy is only sustainable as long as it can maintain access to those markets. And this is where the European Union comes into play. Roughly a third of Germany's exports head for member states within the Eurozone, should this market collapse it would trigger a massive internal crisis within Germany because its economic and social wellbeing is inherently linked to the existence of the European Union. This unique predicament brings forth another geopolitical objective. Regardless of the banking, fiscal disputes, the bailouts, the austerity measures, the flow of refugees and the erosion of the free movement Schengen zone, the Berlin government has to do whatever it takes to maintain the Euro zone as a market for German goods and services. For the sake of domestic stability it must ensure the survival of the European Union, in this context the European bloc also fulfills another of geopolitical objective, which is Germany's relationship with regional powerhouses.
For all its advantages Germany finds itself in between present and historical powers, including the Dutch, French, British ,Italians, Austrians, Danish Swedes, Poles and Russians. Basically, Germany sits in the worst geopolitical area in the world. South Germany is relatively secure, but in the north, the country is exposed to multiple fronts in the flat terrain of the European plane, although Berlin's tactics to deal with that dilemma have changed over the course of the 20th century. The model objective to keep Paris and Moscow at Bay has remained the same .Modern Germany and France have dealt with their mutual problem by interlocking themselves in European institutions. Just six years after world war two ended The European Coal and Steel Community formed a bond between the industries of France and Germany. The succeeding institution,The European Economic Community improved upon those ties by adding a diplomatic layer and when Germany reunified in the 1990s Policymakers from both nations rolled out a common European Monetary Policy headed by the German central bank. When the Euro zone came out in full force in 2002 it quickly became an indispensable market for German industries. This dependency reassures France and Germany of their security concerns in the European plane. This understanding is a geopolitical objective that must be maintained because it allows Berlin to secure its western side, while Paris secures its eastern flank. However, the dysfunctional state of the European bloc brings forth new challenges for Berlin and Paris, and while German politicians act as a voice of unity and reason, behind the scenes, Berlin is working on a contingency plan for the collapse of the European Union. In November 2017, a leaked defense policy paper called The strategic perspective 2040 revealed that the German government is working on measures to deal with the collapse of the European bloc and a resurgent Russia. The document is the first German defense policy since the end of World War Two. The fact that it even exists, sends a chilling message it indicates that Berlin considers the collapse of the European bloc and its disastrous consequences as a likely event regardless of the fate of the EU.
For now, the western flank of Germany's borders are secure. The east side, however, which faces Russia is a more complicated matter. NATO has proven to be of great value for Germany. While the EU has allowed for Germany to deal with France NATO has allowed the German leadership to reduce hazards from the Russian side. This distinct situation explains why Berlin has traditionally operated as a strong advocate of the expansion of the EU and NATO into the former Warsaw Pact nations and the Baltic states. The more of the EU and NATO expand the more secure Germany gets because by encouraging European integration, Berlin gains political ,legal and economic leverage across much of the European plain, this in turn, creates an effective buffer zone between Germany and Russia. Having said that, the EU and NATO expansion have damaged relations with the Kremlin because the Russian objective is to push West. The result of this collision of interests is a prolonged crisis in Ukraine which eventually lead Moscow to invading Ukraine and mutual sanctions and an overall breakdown of diplomatic relations between Berlin and Moscow which is also playing out in the energy crisis faced by Europe ,especially Germany because of its dependence on Russian gas . This stalemate is unlikely to change anytime soon. Russia and Germany may not talk to one another. But the fact that both of their Heartlands occupy the same lowland plains means that they must seek to extend their buffer zones West and East respectively. An ideal situation for Germany would be a relationship with Russia that benefits both sides, much like the German French pact, but how such an understanding of what be formulated at this stage is uncertain.
The final objective of Germany is to secure its maritime access in the north and Baltic Seas in this regard, the Kiel Canal in North Germany, is particularly important because it links the Baltic Sea to the North Sea through German territory, thereby bypassing the Danish straits. However, guaranteeing the security of its strength in the north and Baltic Seas is beyond the ability of Berlin since it requires a capable Bluewater Navy, which is one of the costliest and diverse and nation can undertake. In the West and the solution usually comes down to an alliance with the global maritime power the United States however, German American relations are complex. As a nation that was partially defeated, occupied and rebuilt by the Americans Berlin has mixed feelings for Washington. Politicians in Berlin remain anxious because their export driven economy has a lot to lose in a trade dispute. In the past, maritime rivals managed to shift the balance of power in the European plane by siding with coalition's against Germany. To avoid a repeat of history,Berlin has to remain on friendly terms with Washington so it can continue to dominate its environment through economic and diplomatic means. Such an alliance however, will not be without costs, as such Berlin will have to find ways to remain relevant to the United States. In essence, the geopolitics of Germany stems from its immediate surroundings, the extensive waterways form the backbone of the country and give German industries a competitive edge over their rivals but for all its strengths, Germany has substantial vulnerabilities to fully secure its interests.
The bottom line is Germany must maintain unity among its seats of economic and political power. It must ensure domestic stability by reducing financial inequalities through its social safety programs, and it can only sustain such social policies by maintaining the Eurozone as a market for German goods and services. At the same time, Germany must secure its western and eastern flanks along the European plane by encouraging EU integration to deal with France and NATO integration to bolster its buffer zone against Russia. Furthermore, Berlin must also work closely with Washington to secure its maritime access to the Baltic and North seas ultimately the tactics may have changed over the course of history but these objectives form the geopolitics of Germany
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