ABSTRACT
German espousal of European Union (EU) enlargement derived from two main motivations. One reflected a geostrategic concern about ensuring that Germany had stable, democratic neighbours and was linked to simultaneous processes of bilateral reconciliation. The other, shared by the political class and private sector, was the extension - geographically, sectorally, and over time - of European markets, backed by political and legal surety, for German goods, services and investment. Interests arise in a social and institutional context in which understandings about political, economic and socio-cultural practices, preferences and, eventually, outcomes circulate International relations scholarship has developed along the lines of three main research programs: one stressing state power and interests and material factors; another arguing the primacy of global liberalism; and another privileging ideas, identity and norms. When norms and identity are invoked to explain the importance of institutions it ensures that institutions themselves embody the ideas and the identity most relevant to international politics.
