| Summary/Abstract |
With the notable exception of the Ukraine crisis, Berlin has pursued a cooperative policy vis-à-vis Moscow, demonstrating a unique measure of understanding. This policy is consistent with the two roles that Germany has played in the international system since World War II—as a ‘civilian power’ and as a ‘trading state’. Both have proven successful in foreign policy and economic terms, but have also created a path dependency that complicated adaptability to changed conditions: indecisiveness and a propensity for the middle ground have proven to be its questionable side-effects.
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