German foreign policy identity and use of power (1949 - 2016): Analysis of change and continuity dynamics

This study examines the German Foreign Policy responses toward international conflicts since 1949. It aims to understand whether is there a change or not after the unification and Cold War in German Foreign Policy identity which is described as value-based and pacifist between World War II and these two incidents. Therefore, characteristics of the German Foreign Policy identity towards the use of power between 1949-1990 and 1990-2016 were examined to design a comparative analysis. While doing that, Germany's attitudes toward international conflicts and its participation to the solutions which are offered by its allies and international society were in the focus. Comparative analysis of the data which covers both these periods before and after the unification shows that there is a considerable change in German Foreign Policy towards the use of power, especially in the case of international interventions. Even though a change is visible, Germany's attitude has a multilateral basis and the interventions are mostly Peace Keeping Missions. Therefore, it was seen that German Foreign Policy identity has a continuity before and after the unification, but signs of normalcy were also seen to some degree. Keywords: German foreign policy, foreign policy identity, use of power, continuity,change