Leading Beyond Civilian Power: Germany’s Role Re-conception in European Crisis Management

Abstract

In 2014, Germany’s foreign policy elite promoted a new international role. It promised more leadership in foreign and security policy, in line with the country’s international responsibility and firmly embedded in the European Union. This article applies sociological role theory and foreign policy analysis to review the origins and implications of this role re-conception. The empirical focus is on Germany’s role in crisis management vis-à-vis Libya and Syria. The analysis shows that the 2011 Libyan crisis fuelled existing intra-role tensions between multilateralism and military restraint. Role re-conception was an attempt to overcome tensions while satisfying international and domestic audiences. In practice, there has been a gradual adaptation based on a more flexible interpretation of military restraint. However, Germany’s ability to project leadership beyond the confines of the civilian power role remains limited and depends on the situation-specific balance between domestic and external expectations.