This dissertation analyzes the development of Germany's Arctic engagement between 2005 and 2013. During this period the Arctic witnessed a fundamental transformation in environmental, economic, and political affairs. At the same time the German government's approach towards the region changed in two important ways. First, it evolved from uncoordinated ministerial activities towards a coordinated whole-of-government approach as exemplified in the formulation of the Arctic Policy Guidelines – the country's first ever Arctic policy. Second, the overall focus of Germany's engagement shifted from the fight against global climate change and a sense of responsibility to protect the pristine Arctic environment towards the realization of economic opportunities the Arctic's warming has promised. Against the background of these developments this dissertation poses the following research questions: Why did the government start the inter-ministerial Arctic Policy Guidelines formulation process in 2012, and why is there a stronger emphasis on geo-economic opportunities than on responsibilities related to environmental and climate change in the document? In order to answer these questions it is a) important to understand how ministerial perceptions about the Arctic's transformation evolved and how they conditioned respective ministerial interests, in order to b) explain why the ministerial bargaining process resulted in a final document that focuses more on the economic opportunities than the environmental responsibilities. In order to grasp the complexity of interactions between the Arctic's transformation, its global drivers and Germany's Arctic engagement, this dissertation is based upon a multi-causal and multi-dimensional analytical framework that is applied to the three relevant issue areas (environmental, economic, and political affairs). In a first step, the operational environment, i.e. the objective reality in which Germany's Arctic engagement takes place, is analyzed along the main shaping developments on the global level, in the Arctic, and in Germany. This analysis is based upon the structure-oriented theoretical concepts of International Order and Complex Interdependence. In a second step, based on the theoretical concept of Perceptions, the psychological environment – the ministerial perceptions of the developments in the operational environment – are analyzed. In a third step, ministerial interests (political and bureaucratic) with regard to the Arctic's transformation and Arctic-related global developments are deduced. This analysis forms the basis for the in-depth analysis of the inter-ministerial bargaining process that resulted in the publication of Germany's Arctic Policy Guidelines. This fourth step is based on the theoretical concept of Bureaucratic Politics.    «

This dissertation analyzes the development of Germany's Arctic engagement between 2005 and 2013. During this period the Arctic witnessed a fundamental transformation in environmental, economic, and political affairs. At the same time the German government's approach towards the region changed in two important ways. First, it evolved from uncoordinated ministerial activities towards a coordinated whole-of-government approach as exemplified in the formulation of the Arctic Policy Guidelines – the...    »