New World Order: Germany Lacks Canada's Self-Confidence

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents New World Order: Germany Lacks Canada's Self-Confidence.

How do democratic middle powers deal with the new world order? In a guest commentary for the Handelsblatt, security expert Sophie Eisentraut draws a sharp comparison: Germany is missing something that Canada has long had — the self-confidence of its own population in the influence of middle powers.

Eisentraut situates her thesis within the Handelsblatt's "Global Challenges" series. According to her, Canadians are more likely to believe that their country can play a shaping role between the great powers. Ottawa apparently succeeds better than Berlin in conveying this self-confidence to the population, the expert writes.

The article appears as a guest commentary and is clearly labeled as the personal opinion of the author — not as the position of the Handelsblatt.

Why the comparison between Berlin and Ottawa suggests itself

Germany and Canada are frequently discussed together in international politics as classic middle powers: both countries are active in multilateral forums, rely on diplomacy rather than open power projection, and maintain a comparatively restrained foreign-policy rhetoric. Precisely this structural similarity makes the comparison a litmus test for Eisentraut — with a clear verdict in Canada's favor.

Global Challenges as a debate format

The "Global Challenges" series in the Handelsblatt regularly publishes external voices on foreign and security policy issues. Eisentraut contributes her expertise as a security expert and, with the article, delivers a thesis on the political self-perception of Western democracies in a world where the balance between the great powers is shifting. The full guest commentary is available behind the Handelsblatt's paywall.