In an April 11 speech, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said: “Today’s process of globalization has made it impossible to build empires in the traditional sense. We no longer have a situation where traditional centers of power dominate the countries in their periphery.”

Globalization, adds Dr. Schäuble, “can be successfully shaped only on the basis of integration, cooperation, and the recognition that our partners are our equals and not on the basis of hegemonic or imperial attitudes and actions.”