Why Germany Wanted EMU: The Role of Helmut Kohl's Belief System and the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Germany and the Eurozone Crisis: Between Hegemony and Domestic Politics

“…Nevertheless, differing German motivations could be detected in the Maastricht negotiations, reflecting ordo-liberalism and pro-integrationism (Dyson and Featherstone 1999: 262-3). Thus Chancellor Kohl, officials in the Federal Chancellor's Office, and the Foreign Office saw the wider challenges posed by reunification for Europe's international order and eventually prevailed (see Van Esch 2012). Even so, the Bundesbank and the Federal Ministry of Finance in particular insisted on the institutionalisation of sound money principles.…”

Paradigm formation and paradigm change in the EU’s Stability and Growth Pact

“…Causal mapping is one of the best developed and systematic methods for studying the beliefs of actors and has been successfully applied in political science, social psychology and organizational studies (Axelrod, 1976; Bougon et al ., 1977; Young and Schafer, 1998; Curseu et al ., 2010; Van Esch, 2012, 2014). In political and social psychology and organizational science, this technique is known as cognitive mapping.…”

“…In the run-up to the establishment of the Euro, these perspectives came together in two opposing positions (one can perhaps say: 'paradigms') on the proper form of the monetary and economic integration (Dyson 1999;Van Esch 2007;Van Esch 2012): Ordoliberalism and Keynesianism. The Ordo-liberal paradigm, which was advocated by the German financial elite and government, is characterised first and foremost by a belief in the primacy of price stability ('sound money'), which is the guiding principle by which all other policy-measures are assessed.…”

“…Causal mapping 3 is one of the best developed and systematic methods for studying actor's beliefs and has been successfully applied in political science, social psychology and organizational studies (Axelrod 1976;Bougon et al 1977;Curseu et al 2010;Eden & Ackermann 1998;Van Esch 2007;2012;Young & Schafer 1998). It enables the systematic qualitative and quantitative comparison of ideas and beliefs embedded in public assertions and documents.…”

Exogenous Dynamics and Leadership Traits: A Study of Change in the Personality Traits of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

“…Closer analysis of Kohl's belief system indicates that although he shifted his priorities regarding European integration from economic issues to political ones, he continued his pro-European convictions after such traumatic events, resulting in no substantive change in his belief. 36 Similarly, Malici and Malici 37 find that the fall of Soviet socialism had no discernable effect on the control-over-historical-development attribute of Kim II-Sung and Fidel Castro, two long-standing communist leaders.…”