ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the impact of the 2008–2009 global financial crisis on the dynamics of transatlantic relations. It offers a comparative analysis of how the crisis was perceived and how it has been addressed in Germany and the US. The chapter argues that the financial crisis has significantly changed the parameters of the bilateral relations between Germany and the US in the context of wider EU–US transatlantic relations. The financial crisis, which spread like a tidal wave across the world in 2008, had its origins in the irresponsible lending culture of the US financial industry. The German domestic constituency’s preference for an ordoliberal regulatory framework, which is aimed at medium- to long-term economic stability is firmly grounded in the desire to maintain Germany’s economic advantage as the leading export nation in the eurozone. Germany’s ordoliberalism is also visible in the frugal approach towards defence spending, which is additionally grounded in Germany’s traditional preference for non-military civilian instruments.
