German Geopolitics in and Towards Putin's Russia

Geopolitics in Germany has become ‘the theme that dare not to speak its name’ (Andreas Behnke) owing to its association with Nazi Germany and its leading ideologues, such as Carl Schmitt. In contrast, the concept has of late experienced a renaissance in Russia. This has far-reaching consequences for EU-Russia-Ukraine relations, in which Germany plays a crucial role.

Drawing on Schmitt’s Nomos of the Earth, I seek to illuminate the prevalent logic driving Russia’s policies in and towards Ukraine, and German as well as European responses towards them. Putin’s Russia has perfected a new kind of warfare, which appears to fuse two distinct driving forces of politics identified by Schmitt through the metaphor of Land and Sea: order associated with the Landnahme [land-appropriation] and the chaotic freedom of a pirate associated with the boundless sea. Russian military tactics employ the logic of pirates, who pretend to follow the international rule of law. The conflicting principles of Land and Sea are thus merged into one.

This new constellation presents a significant challenge not just to Europe’s security, but also to its very self-understanding. I will argue that in order to effectively challenge Putin’s Russia, Europe ought to reclaim geopolitics for its own purposes.