German domestic politics and China: An examination of possible new dynamics in the German-Chinese relationship
Author
Seybold, Carmen Mina
Term
4. term
Publication year
2022
Pages
61
Abstract
With a new German coalition government and an altered party constellation, this thesis examines how the government weaves international and domestic factors into its strategic narrative about China. Strategic narratives are the stories governments use to explain interests and roles and to justify policy. The analysis centers on the coalition agreement as the main document and draws on EU statements and representative opinion polls among the German public. The German government is treated as the primary actor, with the EU and the public as key reference points. To identify patterns, documents are systematically coded—that is, passages are tagged for themes such as European sovereignty and human rights—and the coding approach is tailored to the research questions. The analysis proceeds on three levels: (1) the international context, in which EU instruments promote European sovereignty; (2) the domestic context, in which German public sentiment emphasizes human rights in China as well as sovereignty; and (3) how the government combines these factors in its decisions and its narrative toward China. The findings show that the government balances the EU’s sovereignty agenda with domestic human rights concerns to maintain political legitimacy and credibility with the public. The thesis concludes that German–Chinese relations are unlikely to change significantly; the government is likely to act more sovereignly and independently toward China during this legislative period in response to dependencies and rising competition, but this does not add up to a coherent long-term strategy.
Med en ny tysk regering og en ændret partikonstellation undersøger denne afhandling, hvordan regeringen væver internationale og hjemlige forhold ind i sin strategiske fortælling om Kina. Strategiske narrativer forstås som de fortællinger, regeringer bruger til at forklare interesser og roller og til at legitimere politik. Analysen tager udgangspunkt i regeringsgrundlaget som hoveddokument og inddrager EU-udtalelser samt repræsentative meningsmålinger blandt den tyske befolkning. Den tyske regering behandles som hovedaktør, mens EU og befolkningen fungerer som centrale referencepunkter. For at udtrække mønstre kodes dokumenterne systematisk, dvs. passager mærkes efter temaer som europæisk suverænitet og menneskerettigheder; kodningen er tilpasset undersøgelsens formål. Analysen er tredelt: 1) den internationale ramme, hvor EU’s instrumenter fremmer europæisk suverænitet; 2) den indenlandske ramme, hvor tyskernes holdninger lægger vægt på menneskerettigheder i Kina samt suverænitet; og 3) hvordan regeringen forener disse hensyn i beslutninger og i sin Kina-fortælling. Resultatet viser, at regeringen balancerer EU’s suverænitetsdagsorden og hjemlige menneskerettighedskrav for at bevare politisk legitimitet og troværdighed over for offentligheden. Konklusionen er, at de tysk-kinesiske relationer næppe ændrer sig markant; regeringen vil sandsynligvis agere mere suverænt og uafhængigt over for Kina i denne valgperiode som reaktion på afhængigheder og stigende konkurrence, men dette udgør ikke en sammenhængende strategi.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
Keywords