Introduction

Abstract

This chapter presents the central objective of the book, its relevance to the existing scholarship on diffusion and on Franco-German relations, as well as its overall structure, including the research questions that are used to structure the individual chapters. It will be argued that this book engages with two gaps in two fields of scholarship: (1) The IR scholarship on diffusion has so far focussed on analysing the role of diffusion via transnational actors and international organizations and resulting changes in the international system; however, there is a surprisingly small number of studies of instances of dyadic diffusion between individual states (and their societies) and the resulting impact on the development of those states. In other words, this book is about studying processes and effects of interstate diffusion which have resulted in intra-state change that would not have occurred otherwise. (2) This book seeks to innovate and complement the existing political science scholarship on Franco-German relations. Many existing manuals as well as issue-specific accounts at least implicitly adhere to analytical conceptions of ‘methodological nationalism’ in which France and Germany are analysed as interacting yet autonomously evolving and deciding units. This is in stark contrast to the rich historiographic scholarship on the circulation and transfer of knowledge, ideas, and policies in various historical contexts, including during periods of heightened nationalist conflict. Consequently, the book will integrate this scholarship using the analytical tools and concepts of diffusion research in IR. This will offer a complementary perspective to the mainstream analytical narratives in the scholarship on Franco-German Relations.