This article traces the evolution of a postwar leitmotif of German foreign policy, Verantwortungspolitik (politics of responsibility), first articulated by Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher in 1975. In its original Genscher formulation, Verantwortungspolitik emphasized several important features of German behavior on the world stage, including restraint, multilateralism, and humanitarianism. Since the end of the Cold War, German foreign policymakers have steadily revised and reimagined the leitmotif, stressing the importance of Germany’s international responsibilities and the need to close the gap between Germany’s power (capabilities) and willingness to assume a more prominent international role, including a readiness to use force, particularly when human rights are at stake. Although articulation of the norm is fairly persistent, its meaning has changed as Germany confronts new challenges on the global stage. This has important implications for how, where, and when Germany engages internationally and the instruments it utilizes to achieve its foreign policy objectives.

中文翻译：

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重新审视和构想德国外交政策中的责任概念

本文追溯了战后德国外交政策的主题Verantwortungspolitik（责任政治）的演变，该外交政策由外交大臣Hans-Dietrich Genscher于1975年首次提出。在其最初的Genscher提法中，Verantwortungspolitik强调了德国在世界上的行为的几个重要特征阶段，包括克制，多边主义和人道主义。自冷战结束以来，德国外交政策制定者不断修改和重新构想主题，强调德国国际责任的重要性以及弥合德国力量（能力）与愿意承担更重要国际角色的意愿之间的差距的必要性，包括准备使用武力，尤其是在人权受到威胁时。尽管规范的表达相当持久，随着德国在全球舞台上面临新挑战，其含义已经改变。这对德国如何，在何时何地参与国际活动以及其用于实现其外交政策目标的手段具有重要意义。