Who’s the Boss around the House? – The Decision-making Structure of German Foreign Policy

Abstract

Our paper aims at opening the black box of German foreign policy decision-making in order to identify the key players in the decision-making process. Our assumption is that the decision-making is in no way confined to the executive. Although the government is clearly the most important player, the legislative and other state and non-state actors have significant roles as well. Building upon Robert Putnam’s two-level game-approach, we analyze the actors who, through formal and informal ratification, infl uence the maneuvering space of German foreign policy. Our conclusion is that in recent years we see a fragmentation and parlamentarization of German foreign policy decision-making, which make for an increasingly complex process.