The New German foreign policy consensus

German Foreign and Security Policy under the Government of Angela Merkel. A Liberal Analysis of the Grand Coalition

“…Zieht man die heftigen parteipolitischen Auseinandersetzungen über die Grundsatzentscheidungen in der europa-, Außen-und Sicherheitspolitik in der nachkriegszeit (Oppelland 2007) als Vergleichsmaßstab heran, so ist der programmatische Wettbewerb in der bundesdeutschen Außenpolitik in den 1990er Jahren sichtlich abgeebbt. Sieht man einmal von den kontroversen debatten über die Mandatierung von Bundeswehr-Auslandseinsätzen bis Mitte der 1990er Jahre ab, so lässt sich sogar ein breiter parteipolitischer Konsens in den Grundüberzeugungen der europäischen integration, der transatlantischen Beziehungen und des zurückhalten-den und multilateral eingebetteten einsatzes militärischer Gewalt feststellen (Haftendorn 2001;Karp 2005;Oppermann u. Höse 2007).…”

Learning to Lead? Germany and the Leadership Paradox in EU Foreign Policy

“…This approach also tends to stress continuity in post-cold war German foreign policy (Eberle and Handl 2018). The second body of literature (largely but not exclusively realist in its approach) maintains that Germany's central power and position give it either a dominant position in the CFSP or is dismissive of EU foreign policy cooperation altogether (Szabo 2015;Kundnani 2014;Hellmann et al 2007;Karp 2005;Wagner 2005;Schwartz 1994;Pedersen 1998). We take a distinct position by arguing that these two bodies of literature do not help us explore the issue of German power and leadership in European foreign policy in a nuanced manner.…”

Changing images of the USA in German media discourse during four American presidencies

“…the 1950s (Forsberg, 2005;Karp, 2005;Szabo, 2004a). Paralleling the turbulent changes in the political environment, public opinion regarding the United States and its role as a global leader has varied considerably throughout the last decade.…”

“…Germany and the USA were both a part of this community. However, reunification, and the decisions in the later part of the 1990s to let German soldiers participate in military actions outside of the country, as well as the decision by the Schröder government in August 2002 not to support a military intervention in Iraq -the first open rejection of US leadership -triggered an intense debate on the future of German foreign policy, where both the transatlantic ties and the tradition of being a civilian power were questioned (Karp, 2005;Maull, 2005). These policy changes and the debate that followed might have put the relationship between the two countries in a somewhat new light.…”