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.
DOI
10.5642/urceu.NSPM5549
Rights Information
2024 Thomas Goldstein
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Goldstein, Thomas M.
(2024)
"Germany’s Climate Foreign Policy Strategy and Making the High Politics of Climate Ambition,"
Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union:
Vol. 2024, Article 8.
DOI: 10.5642/urceu.NSPM5549
Available at:
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/urceu/vol2024/iss1/8
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