Normativity vs. Raison d'etat: issue of recognizing Armenian genocide in German politics

In European politics there is a clear move toward normative politics. In its framework state decisions are taken on the basis of "values", not "interests". German politics has not become exclusion in this trend. Among last shining examples of normative politicization in German foreign and internal policies is the issue of recognizing Armenian genocide. This politicization has taken place not because of somebody's lobbying activities, but out of normative logic (at least rhetorically). For Germany the recognition of Armenian genocide has a specific meaning. Firstly, the key element of German foreign policy identity is the ontological negation of Holocaust, that's why it is not so simple for Germans to recognize any genocide happened before this key event of modern German history. Secondly, tragic events in 1915-1916 in Ottoman Empire were not prevented by Germany anyway which adhered explicitly to its interest of keeping military alliance with Sublime Porte. The last circumstance was publicly recognized by German president Joachim Gauck, representatives of leading German parties, many journalists and scientists. The authors of the article place emphasis on two aspects of "Armenian issue" in Germany. The first one is about circumstances and content of politicization of Armenian genocide. The article proposes two temporal coordinates of this process - 2005 and 2015 and analyzes in details the problem whether politicization was permanent or discontinuous, elitist or wide-scale. In the second part of the article authors draw attention to fundamental changes which happened in this decade in German discourse. One way or another, politicization was connected to the context of Turkey's relations with the European Union. But if in 2005 conditionality was at stake (so that conditions of Turkey rapprochement with the EU and Germany were formulated), in 2015 self-contradistinction to Turkey as an authoritarian, Islamized state and closed society has become a dominant motive. In the context of normative politics the German government turned out to be caught in the middle, when non-recognition of genocide is interpreted as over-compromising with Erdogan. On the other hand, this decision could cause not only deterioration in relations with Ankara and Turkish community living in Germany, but also breakdown of any hopes to fulfill mediative role of Germany in historical contradictions of Armenia and Turkey and consequently the whole South Caucasian region. In the conclusion the conflict potential of normative politics is illustrated.

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