Bandwagoning on Germany
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced that she will run for a fourth term in office when Germany holds general election in the fall of 2017. Against the backdrop of the Brexit vote and of the surprising results of the US presidential election, Merkel herself is increasingly indicated as the most authoritative leader of the embattled liberal world order.
This policy brief looks at Germany’s refugee and migration policy, arguably Germany’s most consequential policy over the past eighteen months. The brief explains how Germany’s decisions surrounding the refugee crisis marked the most explicit case in recent years of European countries and institutions 'bandwagoning' on German policy.
It argues that this practice is to be welcomed as an entry point for a more systematic and fair EU policy, and warns that the German discourse on refugee and military might further change ahead of next year’s election.
