Date of Award
Spring 5-16-2026
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Advisor(s)
Eric Jarosinski
Second Advisor
Oliver Murphey, Ph.D.
Abstract
Although the German government under Chancellors Gerhard Schroeder and Angela Merkel had success in improving relations with Russia in the 2000s through mutually beneficial trade initiatives, the leaders’ plans were foiled by the persistent pressure from the United States to support NATO expansion. In revisiting this period, one can discern the beginning of a phase of Germany’s attempts to take a more active role in European leadership, which has been fraught with difficulties due to the country’s own postwar traditions of restraint and promotion of peace. Twenty-five years later, as negotiations to end the war in Ukraine are ongoing, the positives and negatives of NATO’s past strategies have become more clear in hindsight. At the same time, the question remains whether it will ever be possible to achieve the heights of the early 2000s ever again, or if the days of relative peace and cooperation between NATO and Russia are truly a thing of the past.
Recommended Citation
Orth, Sebastian Friedrich, "The Rejection of Ostpolitik: Was Germany’s Pragmatic Special Relationship with Russia a Missed Opportunity for European Stability?" (2026). Senior Theses. 198.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/international_senior/198
