Event Details

The CWD Research Seminar series continues with Dr Bernhard Blumenau of the University of St Andrews.

CWD Research Seminar: Dr Bernhard Blumenau (University of St Andrews), 'Germany in Europe and the World: the enduring German Problem'

Monday 9 March 2026, 17.00-18.30

Lancaster University Campus (room TBC)

Germany, owing to its location, size, and influence, has played a pivotal role in Europe for the past 150 years. This position has posed an enduring dilemma for German policymakers and for its neighbours: What role does Germany seek in Europe—and the wider world—and how can it be accommodated within the European system? This dilemma constitutes the so-called “German Problem”, which reached its most violent manifestation in the first half of the twentieth century. This talk will examine the Problem historically and then explore to what extent it persists today, albeit in a different form—as a question of whether Germany can live up to the expectations its neighbours place upon it in an altogether transformed European security environment.

Dr Bernhard Blumenau is a Senior Lecturer in International History and Politics at the School of International Relations at the University of St Andrews. His research interests centre on the historical evolution of German foreign policy and the history of terrorism. In the field of German foreign policy, his work focuses on long-term trends and patterns, with particular emphasis on developments since the Second World War. He is currently developing a new research project on the “German Problem”, examining Germany’s foreign policy vision and ambitions for Europe and the wider world, as well as its own role within them, both historically and today. He is also interested in the broader history of international relations, diplomacy, and the Cold War.

Dr Blumenau holds degrees from the University of Dresden (Germany) and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Switzerland). He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS) and a Member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Young Academy of Scotland (MYAS).