German foreign and security policy : sustaining civilian and multilateral orientation

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2009
Gül, Murat
The “German Question” was on the agenda of the international community from the last quarter of the nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. Following the end of the World War II, due to the existence of a Soviet threat, the incorporation of West Germany into the liberal-democratic institutions of the western world was the principal issue to be dealt with. Following the reunification of Germany and the end of the bipolar international structure, the “German Question” was revisited. The German insistence on the early recognition of Croatia and Slovenia and German participation in the Kosovo War brought questions whether Germany has become more assertive and on the way to return to the power politics. This dissertation will analyze German foreign and security policy in the post-Cold War era in order to understand whether Germany has shifted from its civilian and multilateral orientation or has made small adjustments in its policies to adapt to the new international structure. In approaching the issue, the study attempts to link the theoretical and practical aspects under the guidance of a conceptual framework provided by realist, neorealist and constructivist approaches. Through contextualizing the coexistence of realist, neorealist and constructivist factors in German foreign and security policy, the dissertation argues that although Germany has made some small policy adjustments to adapt to the new international structure, German foreign and security policy has not shifted from its civilian and multilateral orientation.

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Citation Formats
M. Gül, “German foreign and security policy : sustaining civilian and multilateral orientation,” Ph.D. - Doctoral Program, Middle East Technical University, 2009.