Germany in European Diplomacy: Minilateralism as a Tool for Leadership

Abstract

While Germany is a proponent of a strong Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) of the European Union (EU), Berlin has been part of a number of minilateral diplomatic initiatives in recent decades which seemingly side-lined EU diplomatic actors. This article illustrates how Germany uses minilateral formats as a means to exercise leadership in international diplomacy. The German engagement in minilateral diplomatic initiatives coincides with an increased focus on its structural – mostly economic – power. Nevertheless, Germany's institutional power – partly based on an extensive network between government and bureaucratic actors – remained crucial in order to create consensus and acceptance for the minilateral diplomacy within the EU. Hence, minilateral diplomatic initiatives allow Germany to reconcile its long-standing preference for a strong CFSP with the growing expectations to engage more actively in international relations. Three case studies on the Western Balkan Contact Group, the Iran nuclear negotiations, and the Normandy format during the Ukraine conflict provide the empirical material for the analysis.