From Perennial Follower to ‘Reluctant’ Leader? Germany’s Relationship with the CFSP

This chapter maps the trajectory of German foreign and security policy since the end of the Cold War and reunification and how these have impacted on its approach to EU-level co-operation. It contends that the concept of Germany as a ‘normalised state’ offers a convincing explanation of developments in German foreign and security policy, particularly since the election of the SPD/Green Party Coalition in 1998. In doing so, it argues that today Germany enjoys a position of emergent leadership in foreign policy, mirroring its economic role, and that the ‘reflexive multilateralism’ that for so long characterised its foreign policy-making can no longer be assumed. Rather, Germany is showing greater willingness to behave—and be seen to behave—as a ‘normal’ power.