The Transformation of German Multilateralism: Changes in Foreign Policy Discourse since Unification

Abstract

When German foreign policy is being described, a reference to multilateralismis rarely ever omitted. Together with Westbindung, restraintin using military force, and a trading-state orientation, Germany’spreference for multilateral settings is recognized as one of the centralelements of its foreign policy. In recent years, a number of studieshave shown that, in contrast to realist expectations from the early1990s, the more powerful unified Germany has continued to embracethis multilateralism. This applies to Germany’s willingness to binditself to NATO and other European and Euro-Atlantic security institutions,1 to Germany’s policy within and vis-à-vis the EU,2 and to itsforeign policy on a global scale.