Sticking to Her Guns or Going with the Flow
Assessing Rigidity and Flexibility in Angela Merkel's Political Decision Making
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Abstract
This paper investigates levels of rigidity and flexibility in Angela Merkel's decision making during her first three governments from 2005 to 2017. The study is a contribution to understanding German politics in the era of Merkel who has regularly been criticized for allegedly lacking a transformative agenda and ideological consistency. Methodologically this study draws on Jonathan Keller's framework that differentiates between internally and externally validated leaders, with the latter seeking to appease and curry favor with stakeholders and the former committed to their personal believes. The study assesses Merkel's decisions on fiscal and economic policies, zooms in on her u-turn on nuclear energy, touches upon her dithering during the Euro crisis and discusses at some length her protracted coming to terms with the refugee crisis. Findings suggest her flexibility to be predominantly a reflection of political expediencies and intended to preserve her party's political compatibility with potentially supportive stakeholders. Her approach thus is in line with the agenda to manage coalition governments successfully, moderate and conciliate divergent interests and thus secure their position in power.
Contributor Notes
After graduating in history and political science Christian Schnee served as civil servant and policy advisor to Germany's Christian Democratic Party. He held positions with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and Hamburg's fifa World Cup Office before taking up various teaching roles at institutions of higher education.