To achieve this objective, Germany must become a “shaping power,” a state with the ability to solve problems and resolve conflicts affecting all or part of the international community. The traditional determinants of states’ power relative to other states – geography, demography, economic heft, and military might, coupled with the availability of resources and technological proficiency – remain important; but they are often insufficient to confer actual influence in international politics.
为了实现这一目标，德国必须成为“有决定力的大国”（shaping power），成为一个有能力为部分甚至全体国际社会解决问题、消弭冲突的国家。一国相对于其他国家的实力的传统维度——地理、人口、经济实力和军事实力——仍然很重要，但通常并不足以在国际政治中施加实际影响力。有决定力的大国构建关系、投资制度，从而使其能够与其他国家精诚合作并建立和动员“思维相近的国家的联盟和网络”。