German foreign policy in the period of adaptation to the realities of the post-bipolar world

Abstract

The transition from a bipolar to a post-bipolar system of international relations and the reunification of the FRG and the GDR in 1990 marked the beginning of a new stage in the history of Germany. The article examines the period of transformation and adaptation of the foreign policy of reunited Germany to the realities of the post-bipolar world order. The purpose of this study is to analyze the main directions of German foreign policy during the chancellorship of Helmut Kohl. At that time it was important for the FRG to strengthen stability and develop democracy in the territories of neighboring eastern countries. The position of the FRG in German-American relations had also changed. Reunited Germany became a strategically important partner of the United States in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and one of the central countries to initiate NATO expansion into Eastern Europe. Bilateral relations between Germany and Russia during the period under review developed in a positive way, since after the collapse of the USSR and the reunification of Germany both countries were in search of new foreign policy benchmarks. Providing a detailed description of the actions of the first government of reunited Germany in adapting the country to the new external conditions, the author concludes that a new geopolitical situation was formed in Europe after the reunification of the FRG and the GDR.