German Identity and European Integration

TLDR

Germany’s post‑Cold War structural changes did not alter its pro‑integration policy, a pattern that conventional theories cannot explain, as leaders framed the Federal Republic as part of a growing supranational community. The article seeks to explain Germany’s persistent pro‑integration stance through a constructivist analysis of state identity. The authors develop a two‑step framework to identify the content of state identity and its influence on action, then apply it to the German case. The study finds that Germany’s European identity, rooted in postwar experience, drove its unwavering support for deeper integration after reunification.

Abstract

Although the structural constraints facing Germany shifted dramatically with the end of the Cold War and reunification, the direction of its European policy did not. The more powerful Federal Republic continued to press for deeper economic and political integration, eschewing a more independent or assertive foreign policy course. Neorealism, neoliberalism and liberalism cannot adequately explain this continuity in the face of structural change. This article sets out a constructivist account centered around the effects of German state identity. It develops a two-step analytical framework designed to pinpoint the content of state identity and establish its effects on state action, and then applies it to the German case. In the wake of reunification, German leaders across the political spectrum identified the Federal Republic as part of an emergent supranational community. This European identity, with roots in the postwar decades, drove Germany's unflagging support for deeper integration across the 1989-90 divide.