LEADING THROUGH A DECADE OF CRISIS— NOT BAD, AFTER ALL Germany’s Leadership Demand and Followership Inclusion, 2008-2018 Valerio Alfonso Bruno University of Fribourg Giacomo Finzi National University of Colombia Abstract: The decade following the great economic and financial crisis of 2008 saw the European Union demanding regional leadership. The EU has also suffered a number of other existential crises, such as the ongoing refugee crisis, the Ukraine-Russia military confrontation, the revival of nationalism and radical right-wing populism, alongside the “trade war” between the United States and the EU. The article develops a novel theoretical framework structuring leadership as a peculiar typology of power, characterized by the capacity of both including “followership” countries’ interests and providing crisis management. Our central argument is that Germany responded strategi- cally to leadership demand in Europe through a positive power role, exhibit- ing the inclusion of followership and multilateral leadership rather than hegemonic, together with crisis management skills based on solid influence over regional outcomes. Conclusions are drawn from five key case studies drawn from different policy areas. Keywords: crisis management, European Union, followership, Germany, Ital- ian political crisis, refugee crisis, regional power, U.S.-EU trade war Introduction: The European Union in the Decade of Crisis (2008-2018) Since the global financial and economic crisis began in 2008, 1 the European Union (EU) has been hit by a number of crises of different natures, resembling as an almost continuous “decade of crisis” and crisis management: 2 • Economic or commercial: began with concerns regarding the sus- tainability of the Greek public debt (2010-2018) and escalated to a full Eurozone crisis (2009-2014); alongside the recent and ongoing U.S.-EU trade war (2018). German Politics and Society, Issue 129 Vol. 36, No. 4 (Winter 2018): 50–77 © Georgetown University and Berghahn Books doi:10.3167/gps.2018.360403 • ISSN 1045-0300 (Print) • ISSN 1558-5441 (Online)