Different Worlds, Same Goal

Earlier this year, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder declared Germany to be a candidate for a permanent seat at the Security Council. The announcement coincided with a renewed international debate to reform the UN's enforcement arm in maintaining international peace and security.

With the Security Council's five permanent veto-wielding members -- France, England, America, China and Russia -- still representing the world of 1945, there is broad agreement that an overhaul is overdue.

While a revamp is being hotly debated within the UN, Germany is already drumming up support for its bid for a permanent seat. With a two-thirds majority of the 191-member UN General Assembly required to pass any kind of reform resolution, Germany is not just lobbying the global heavyweights but even smaller countries.

"Working towards the same goal"

The most recent campaign offensive involves a ten-day tour of South Asia by German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer. Stops include India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Fischer became the first European leader to visit the newly-elected Congress government and the new Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday. The two sides confirmed they would support each other in their attempts to get permanent UN Security Council seats.

In the run-up to the meeting, experts agreed the German bid would find acceptance in India. Not least because New Delhi has made no secret of its own ambition to seek a spot in the powerful club.

A further reason, said some, are the smooth ties the two countries enjoy. "There's nothing negative in their relationship, no conflict of interest, so the two could really work together towards the same goal," Anuradha Chenoy, international relations expert at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University told DW-WORLD.

Indeed, the Indo-German relationship, traditionally close, has grown stronger since German reunification and India's economic reform process in the 1990s. Trade and investment have picked up in recent years along with deepening cooperation in the fields of science and technology.

Last year, former German President Johannes Rau endorsed a permanent Indian seat on the Security Council during a visit to India.

A common stance on Iraq

Though India's nuclear tests in 1998 (photo), tensions with Pakistan following the attack on the Indian parliament in 2001 and, most recently, a flare-up of religious violence in the western state of Gujarat in 2002 have cast a shadow on bilateral relations, experts said there hasn't been any lasting damage.

They instead pointed out that the two countries' similar position on recent world events is an indication that the two could complement each other in their bid for permanent Security Council seats.

"After the Sept. 11 attacks, there was a shift in the foreign policies of many countries. Both India and Germany refused to go along with the US, reflecting a common thinking," said Chenoy, adding that the recent change in the Indian government would also boost chances of the two working in tandem. "The Hindu nationalists in the last government pursued a more militaristic, chauvinist foreign policy. The Congress is more moderate."

Subrata Mitra, head of the political science department at Heidelberg's South Asia Institute, stressed that India's traditional role as leader of the non-aligned movement (an international organization of over 100 states which consider themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc) would be strengthened if it got in with Germany on the Security Council.

"In its search for a new global role, India views Germany, which has shown itself to be balanced and neutral, as an important western partner," Mitra said. "A German-Indian axis in the Security Council would provide an important and much-needed voice in a multi-polar world."

Promising candidates

While both nations have the backing of various countries for their bids, the position of the single-most powerful member of the Security Council -- the US -- is still unknown.

Still, analysts agreed that both countries stand a good chance of getting what they want. Germany is already the third-largest contributor to the UN budget and the largest troop-contributor to peacekeeping missions from the Balkans to the Hindukush.

Though India has also been active in UN peacekeeping missions, the reform debate focusing largely on the need for the Security Council to be more globally representative is expected to speak in its favor.

"The outdated Security Council has to reflect the current world reality and include countries of the Third World. By that measure, India -- the world's largest democracy and second-most populous nation-- is a leading candidate," said UN expert Günther Unser.

What about Pakistan?

Some, however, warned that considering India to be a "natural choice" could prove dangerous for the stability of the South Asian region -- a further topic of discussion during Fischer's visit.

Hans Maull, who holds the chair for foreign policy and international relations at the University of Trier said Pakistan, with whom India has thrice gone to war, was the key.

"German foreign policy towards India should be positive," he said. "But its endorsement of the Indian bid is not going to please Pakistan. If it's angry that India gets in, it could endanger the security of the region," Maull said.