Germany's Rediscovery of the Use of Force 1990–1995
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University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 1-1-2009 Role Expectations and State Socialization: Germany's Rediscovery of the Use of Force 1990–1995 Thorsten Spehn University of Denver Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd Part of the International Law Commons, and the International Relations Commons Recommended Citation Spehn, Thorsten, "Role Expectations and State Socialization: Germany's Rediscovery of the Use of Force 1990–1995" (2009). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 933. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/933 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. ROLE EXPECTATIONS AND STATE SOCIALIZATION: GERMANY’S REDISCOVERY OF THE USE OF FORCE 1990-1995 __________ A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies University of Denver __________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy __________ by Thorsten Spehn November 2009 Advisor: Prof. Paul Viotti ©Copyright by Thorsten Spehn 2009 All Rights Reserved Author: Thorsten Spehn Title: Role Expectations and State Socialization: Germany’s Rediscovery of the Use of Force 1990-1995 Advisor: Prof. Paul Viotti Degree Date: November 2009 ABSTRACT This dissertation engages the question of why German political elites accepted the use of force during the 1990s and started to commit the country’s armed forces to multilateral peacekeeping missions. Previous governments of the Federal Republic had opposed foreign deployment of the military and Germany was characterized by a unique strategic culture in which the efficacy of military force was regarded as negative. The rediscovery of the use of force constituted a significant reorientation of German security policy with potentially profound implications for international relations. I use social role theory to explain Germany’s security policy reorientation. I argue that political elites shared a national role conception of their country as a dependable and reliable ally. Role expectations of the international security environment changed as a result of a shift to multilateral intervention as means to address emerging security problems after the Cold War. Germany’s resistance to the use of force was viewed as inappropriate conduct for a power possessing the economic and military wherewithal of the Federal Republic. Elites from allied countries exerted social pressure to have Germany contribute commensurate with capabilities. German political elites adapted role behavior in response to external expectations in an effort to preserve the national role conception of a dependable and reliable ally. ii Security policy reorientation to maintain Germany’s national role conception was pursued by conservative elites who acted as 'role entrepreneurs’. CDU/CSU politicians initiated a process of role adaptation to include the use of force for non-defensive missions. They persuaded Social Democrats and Alliance 90/Green party politicians that the maintenance of the country’s role conception necessitated a reorientation in security policy to accommodate the changes in the security environment. The dissertation uses structured, focused and comparative case study methodology to trace the process of role adaptation in the understandings of German parliamentary elites. It finds that German policy orientation was a product of external expectations which increased in their socializing impact as intervention norms became more concrete and ethnopolitical violence increased in intensity. As a constructivist account of the normalization of German foreign policy, the dissertation finds that social, rather than utilitarian considerations were primarily responsible for initiating the reorientation of German security policy. The finding that social expectations caused a reorientation in the security policy of a great power strengthens social constructivist claims about the impact of norms in international relations. The dissertation also contributes to knowledge on processes of domestic norm promotion and national compliance. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am indebted to Jack Donnelly for suggesting important theoretical improvements. I thank Rachel Epstein for her methodological and conceptual contributions during the early phase of the dissertation. David Levine’s encouragement and advice helped me see this effort through as did the participants of the dissertation workshop; specifically Sarah Bania-Dobyns, Sasha Breger, Eric Fattor, Bobby Pace, Richard Shannon, Denise Froning and Siti Razali. They kept me motivated and helped me identify problems in my work. I am grateful for their collegial support and constructive criticisms. I also thank Provost Gregg Kvistad for taking the time to serve as chair of my oral defense committee. I am also grateful for the support I received from members of the Political Science Department at the University of Colorado Denver where I taught while completing my work. Department chair Jana Everett watched my commitments and ensured that my teaching load did not get in the way of finishing my dissertation. My colleagues Christoph Stefes, Lucy McGuffey and Stephen Thomas were always encouraging and supportive. Glenn Morris initially hired me on as instructor. Finally, at the Metropolitan State College of Denver, Robert Hazan deserves special mention for giving me my start as an instructor and his friendly support over the years. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND TABLES …………………………………… vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ……………………………………………………. vii I. INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………… 1 The Puzzle of German Security Policy Reorientation ……………. 1 The Importance of the Study ……………………………………… 9 A Social Argument for Security Policy Reorientation ……………. 11 Methodology and Case Selection …………………………………. 21 Conclusion and Organization of the Dissertation …………………. 26 II. SOCIALIZATION THROUGH ROLE EPISODES …………………… 29 Introduction………………………………………………………… 29 The Context of German Security Policy …………………….…….. 30 German Security Policy during the Cold War……………… 30 Strategic Culture and Institutions…………………………… 39 Foreign Policy Analysis: Internal and External Factors …………… 45 National Role Conceptions……………………………………..….. 51 Parliamentary Elites………………………………………………… 60 A Social Theory of Security Policy Reorientation…………………. 71 The Role Episode: Role Pressure and Adaptation…………. 71 The International Security Environment…………………… 74 Norm Diffusion and Elite Socialization……………………. 77 Domestic Concerns and Elite Persuasion Processes……….. 82 Evidence Collection and Data Sources…………………………….. 85 Research Questions for Comparative Investigation……………. 85 Data Sources……………………………………………………. 89 Conclusion………………………………………………………….. 92 III. THE PERSIAN GULF WAR EPISODE ………………………………. 93 Introduction: A New Script…………………………………………. 93 The Invasion of Kuwait and the International Response…………… 98 The German Response to the Persian Gulf Crisis…………………... 102 Role Expectations and Role Conceptions ………………………….. 111 Domestic Concerns of Parliamentary Elites ………………………... 125 Strategic Culture: Antimilitarism as Constraint on Elite Action …… 135 Conclusion: Explaining Partial Compliance ……………………….. 144 v IV. UNILATERALISM IN YUGOSLAVIA……………………………… 148 Introduction: An Awkward Performance………………………….. 148 The Breakup of Yugoslavia and the International Response ……… 152 The German Response to the Breakup of Yugoslavia …………….. 160 Role Expectations and Role Conceptions …………………………. 170 Domestic Concerns of Parliamentary Elites ………………………. 175 Strategic Culture: Antimilitarism and Self-Determination ………... 187 Conclusion: Explaining Non-Compliance ………………………… 192 V. THE BOSNIAN CIVIL WAR …………………………………………. 198 Introduction: Script Change………………………………………... 198 The Bosnian Civil War and the International Response …………... 202 The German Response to the Civil War in Bosnia ………………… 210 Role Expectations and Social Pressure …………………………….. 216 Role Conceptions and Contestation ………………………………... 222 Domestic Concerns of Parliamentary Elites………………………... 236 Strategic Culture: Reticence and Antimilitarism ………………….. 249 Conclusion: Explaining Compliance ………………………………. 253 VI. CONCLUSION: FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS………………………. 261 Introduction ………………………………………………………… 261 Restating the Theory ………………………………………………. 262 Findings: Role Episodes from 1990 to 1995……………………….. 265 The Persian Gulf War ……………………………………… 265 Unilateralism in Yugoslavia ……………………………….. 269 The Bosnian Civil War …………………………………….. 272 Summary of Findings ………………………………………. 275 Contributions to Knowledge ……………………………………….. 277 International Socialization and Domestic Resonance ………. 277 Culture, Institutions and Public Opinion …………………… 281 Internal and External Factors in Foreign Policy Formulation 284 The Utility of Role Theory in Foreign Policy Analysis ……. 289 Agenda for Future Research ……………………………………….. 291 Conclusion …………………………………………………………. 294 VII. REFERENCES………………………………………………………… 298 VIII. APPENDIX …………………………………………………………… 333 List of Abbreviations ……………………………………………….. 333 vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND TABLES Figure 1. Internal and External Origins of National Role Conceptions ................ 55 2. General Model of the Role Episode…………………………………… 72 3. Model of Factors in Role Adjustment Processes……………………… 73 4. Elite Persuasion