“From Raison d’État to International Law” – Leuphana Security Dialogue

2026-05-20 Under the title “From Raison d’État to International Law,” Dr. Mariam Salehi (Free University of Berlin) and Prof. Dr. Antje Wiener (University of Hamburg) discussed Germany’s historical responsibility and its foreign policy implications last May as part of the Leuphana Security Dialogue. The evening was moderated by conflict researcher Dr. Wolfgang Minatti (Leuphana University of Lüneburg).

The starting point was the norm of “reason of state,” established following Angela Merkel’s 2008 speech to the Knesset, which links Germany’s historical responsibility stemming from the Holocaust to its unconditional support for Israel. Antje Wiener traced the origins and normative development of this concept and asked whether “reason of state” can truly be viewed as a functional norm in the sense of political science and international law, given that its proponents use the term in a vague and often indefinable manner. Mariam Salehi, meanwhile, spoke about the political functions of raison d’état and its connections to German identity, historical reckoning, and the country’s domestic and foreign policies. Both speakers then discussed the hypothesis that raison d’état is often used for domestic political purposes rather than foreign policy ones.

Furthermore, Salehi and Wiener explored alternative ways in which Germany’s historical responsibility could be incorporated into the country’s foreign and security policy. Topics discussed included, for example, a stronger emphasis on international law and human rights as universal principles, as well as the extent to which other chapters of German history—such as colonialism or the division of Germany—could complement a policy that is historically informed but based on a broader sense of responsibility.