Embracing the Middle Ground in Response to Interrole Conflict: Germany’s Mediation in the Eastern Mediterranean

The disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean have become one of the central issues in EU—Turkey relations, particularly since 2018. This study analyzes Germany’s stance regarding the issue through a role-theoretical lens. More specifically, it seeks to understand why Germany identified de-escalation as a foreign policy objective and, in connection with this, acted as a mediator, by examining the interplay among the role conceptions of this country. In this context, it argues that German foreign policy, in the face of this crisis between the EU and Turkey, was marked by interrole conflict. The diverging requirements of different roles led German decision-makers to avoid a hard-line stance and instead seize the middle ground, while simultaneously constructing a new role in the crisis, namely that of mediator. In this sense, the study demonstrates the implications of Germany’s interrole conflict for its position vis-à-vis the disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as the manner in which German leaders attempted to overcome this foreign policy dilemma.