ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the Iran nuclear deal of 2015 as a case study of Germany's nonproliferation policies. Negotiated for more than a decade and barely still in force today, the deal is an expression of the country's long-standing preferences: Berlin aims to maintain the global nonproliferation regime while also advancing its own position inside the United Nations system. After highlighting the drivers of Germany's nonproliferation policies, the chapter traces and explains the country's contribution to the international negotiation efforts, from its European-only beginnings to the attempts to preserve the deal in the face of U.S. and Iranian non-compliance. It concludes with an outlook on a world facing an increasing threat of the use of nuclear weapons and the likely spread of nuclear energy as part of the green transition—two factors that underline the need for Germany to adjust its nuclear nonproliferation policies in the near future.
