Germany’s Inclusion as a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council: Breaking Free from its Historic Subservience

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Germany’s Inclusion as a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council: Breaking Free from its Historic Subservience

The Federal Republic of Germany, once a menacing dictatorship on a path of world domination, is currently the leading nation in the European Union and the third-leading contributor to the United Nations. Germany has come a long way since its reunification in 1990. It is now fully committed to a foreign policy based around peace, stability, and development, Germany is entirely committed to protecting the future of the global community.

Germany maintains that the accomplishment of these goals resides in the strengthening of international organizations, specifically the United Nations, and for a more active participation by the German Republic. Germany’s active role in the United Nations can be reflected in its participation amongst the UN’s various arms, specifically the Security Council. Currently on its fourth term as a non-permanent member of the Council, Germany, with a majority of support from the General Assembly of the UN, has declared its willingness for a seat as a permanent member of the Security Council. In an effort to change its bloodied past, Germany hopes its inclusion as a permanent member would allow them to facilitate further peacekeeping missions with greater ease. Additionally, Germany hopes to increase the scope of international developmental projects undertaken by the UN.

The idea of a unified federation of the world’s nations was first spawned by German philosopher Immanuel Kant in the late 18th century. Kant believed that this federation of nations would be founded on a platform of “Universal Hospitality,” in which no person “had more right than another to a particular part of the earth” (Kant). He also expressed that no country should interfere with the government of another. In addition, larger, more powerful countries shall not use smaller countries for their own gain. Such a federation would perform as a collective security against aggressors.

With the conception of the League of Nations, Kant’s doctrine became a reality in the early 20th century after World War I. The League of Nations lasted from 1920 to 1946 with 63 different countries represented (Encarta). Though it lacked the backing of superpowers, such as the United States, and did not sustain its goal of preventing another world war, the League of Nations provided a model for the United Nations in 1941.

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