What influence do the interests of individual government members have on the formulation of mandates for foreign deployments of the Bundeswehr? Structuralist explanations of German foreign policy, such as those based on the role concept of "Civilian Power Germany," often overlook the influence of individual decision-makers and domestic political decision-making processes. This volume, however, focuses on the key decision-makers within the federal government (Chancellor, Foreign Minister, and Defense Minister) and their interplay in the decision-making process. Based on an extended version of the "Governmental Politics" model developed by Graham Allison, the internal government decision-making processes regarding deployments that took place during the "Grand Coalition" under Chancellor Angela Merkel (2005-2009) are analyzed.