Germany’s Shifting International Role, with Jana Puglierin and Sam Denney

During recent weeks and months, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly been in the spotlight, drawing both praise and criticism from observers in Germany and abroad. On the one hand, he has received positive attention for his efforts to promote an ambitious agenda that would transform both Germany and the European Union, attempting to meet the pivotal current moment sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On the other hand, Scholz has encountered significant challenges in executing on this political agenda, facing a worsening energy crisis, a fractious coalition government, and a series of personal scandals. Jana Puglierin and Sam Denney join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss Scholz’s recent speech in Prague, and the shifting dynamics within the European Union that could impact the future of the war in Ukraine. Jana Puglierin is the head of the Berlin office and a Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Her work focuses on German and European foreign, security, and defense policy, as well as Germany’s role in Europe and transatlantic relations. Sam Denney is a German Chancellor Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung. He specializes in U.S. foreign policy, transatlantic relations, German domestic and foreign policy, and threats to democracy in Europe.