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Abstract

Germany’s Climate Foreign Policy Strategy, released in December 2023, is the first of its kind anywhere. The document elevates a set of climate objectives to the highest level of Germany’s foreign policy. This paper examines Germany as a case study of how a consistently ambitious climate actor may shift its policy preferences over time. Party policy shifts are traced within government documents, campaign manifestos, and coalition contracts to consider the viability of three potential explanations: the demands of a “green” political constituency, a structural reaction to reduce energy dependencies, and feedback effects from international institutions. Upon investigation, the Strategy displays institutional continuity between the German government and international initiatives, crystallizing rather than fragmenting global climate governance.

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2024 Thomas Goldstein

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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