The Challenge of Regional Leadership: Germany’s Self-Conception and Leadership Performance across EU Policies
Leadership of powerful states is considered crucial to the success of regional integration. Since the European Union (EU) finds itself in a ‘polycrisis’, many eyes are on Germany. However, Germany has long been characterized by a ‘leadership avoidance reflex’. Moreover, even if Germany perceives itself as a leader in the EU, it will not be able to provide leadership equally in all EU policies, as such hegemony is precluded for structural and legitimacy reasons.
Therefore, this project investigates, first, the extent to which German political elites perceive themselves as a regional leader in different EU policies. Second, the project asks under which conditions Germany actually performs a leading role in a given policy. In order to answer these questions, the project elaborates an innovative theoretical model that integrates rationalist (interest-based) and constructivist (idea-based) perspectives on leadership. Methodologically, the project relies on a mixed-methods design by combining an elite survey with rigorous process-tracing based on semi-structured interviews and document analysis.
Project Lead: Magnus Schoeller (Profile)
Funding: Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) (APART-GSK)
Duration: 2020-2024
Research Output
Schoeller, Magnus G.:“Centrifugal Forces in a Hegemonic Environment: The Rise of Small-State Coalitions in the Economic and Monetary Union”, European Political Science Review (online first, August 2021), DOI: 10.1017/S1755773921000254.
Schoeller, Magnus G. and Olof Karlsson: “Championing the ‘German Model’? Germany’s Consistent Preferences on the Integration of Fiscal Constraints”, Journal of European Integration 43:2 (February 2021), 193-209.
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