Germany and the European Union
As it began, our century drew to a close, with Germany once again the economic powerhouse and political hub of Europe. What is remarkable is how quickly this happened, how unbidden and unanticipated: the toppling of the Berlin Wall in November 1989; the reunification a year later; the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War in late December 1991; a resurgent impetus to West European integration in 1992; and NATO enlargement, which was consecrated in April 1999. Unquestionably, this chain of events has profoundly affected Germany’s situation over the past decades. For the first time since the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in 1949 and the painstaking process of creating democratic institutions, the German elite must look beyond the continuing task of state building and deal with a set of formidable new problems. Germany is the only country in the world now having to deal with parallel modernization processes: the modernization of the former (West German) Federal Republic of Germany and, simultaneously, the transformation in the former German Democratic Republic from a Communist state-controlled economy to a liberal and social-market economy. Pressures induced by economic and political changes are currently being felt in many European nations, yet a reunited Germany faces a more specific and poignant challenge: In its role as a central power at the heart of Europe, Germany bears a tremendous political responsibility to itself and the whole continent, both for historical reasons and because of its geopolitical location. With that said, it is only through evaluation of the positives and negatives for both Germany and Europe as a whole that we can assess wh...
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...h a more integrated economy and currency. Lastly, although the EU might make Germany a target for terrorism, the greater cultural advancements brought on open borders and freer flow of information make the EU a very tempting organization. It is with all that said, then, that this scholar concludes that it would, ultimately, be more beneficial to Germany (and many other countries, for that matter) to join and strengthen the European Union.
Sources:
n Pulzer, P.; Germany 1945-1990: Politics, State Formation, and Reunification; Oxford University Press, London; 1997
n Landgguth, Gerd; Germany in the Age of Globalization; Washington Quarterly v22 no3 p91-108; Summer 1999
n Lawday, David; Lovers Meet Again, Over Sauerkraut; New Statesman (London) v130 p21-22 F 12 2001
n Rubinstein, Alvin Z.; Germans On Their Future; Orbis v43 no1 p127-43 Winter 1999
The benefits of the European Union outweigh the costs. Ever since the end of World War II, countries in the EU have been helped economically, politically, and culturally.
With a GDP of 18.3 trillion US dollars for the EU, that is, a quantity of money and about one trillion dollars higher than the US! (Document A)! According to Document A, the European Union's highest GDP is 3.9 trillion and Germany in the lead! Germany had essentially joined the EU because for more money. There are a lot of benefits of joining the EU, maybe just to have a lot of money, or be a more powerful strong country and not to be a hovel.
The period after World War One was very politically unstable. Many different kinds of governments, such as fascism and communism, were coming up all over Europe. One country that especially faced this political fluctuation was Germany. After the war, Germany was forced into a democracy known as the Weimar Republic, but this government soon collapsed and Hitler’s fascism took over. There were various factors that contributed to the fall of the Weimar Republic, but three major ones were the lack of popular support for the government, the lack of efficiency and internal organization, and the competition of other, more conservative parties such as the Nazis.
The Songerweg emphasizes the particular model of history that Germany, unlike other Western countries, has gone through. Specifically, ‘proponents of this concept emphasize the peculiarities of German history, such as political institutions, social structures, or mentalities and experience, usually in comparison with other Western countries, to demonstrate the unique course of German history’ (Buse & Doerr, 1998, p. 934). Although initially the theory of Sonderweg viewed the characteristics of German historical development as positive, the situation has changed after the World War II. Specifically, in the 19th and early 20th centuries historians applied the Sonderweg model to stress a focus on the role of strong central state and military as the driving force of the development of the country (Buse & Doerr, 1998). In addition to this, historians regarded social reforms in Germany that were made from ‘above’ rather than being the outcomes of revolution to be a positive feature that depicted German state in a favorable way. Finally, the historical school viewed the course of German industrialization and culture as superior to similar processed in the rest of Western European
Richard Bessel’s article stresses the political structure of Weimar Germany as the cause of its failure. Its structure was flawed in numerous ways, all of which contributed to its inevitable failure. First of all, the problems within Germany due to the First World War were massive. This caused economic, political and social problems which first had to be dealt with by the new Weimar government. The loss of the war had left Germany with huge reparations to pay, and massive destruction to repair. In order to gain the capital needed to finance efforts to rebuild, and repay the Allies, the economy had to be brought back to its prewar levels. This was not an easy task.
Osland, S.J. (2003). Broadening the Debate, the Pros and Cons of Globalization. Journal of Management inquiry, Vol. 12 no. 2, pp.137-154
The German Reunification failed in its attempt to bring the two Germanys together after being separated for nearly 45 years. The myriad of negative ramifications brought about by the Reunification only strengthened the divide between the East and West Germans. The devaluation of the East German mark and depopulation of East German cities, along with unemployment and poor living conditions, instigated discontent among the East Germans. West Germany’s “taking over” of East Germany in the act of Reunification induced a lopsided economy with its Eastern half still trying to catch up to its Western half, establishing the myth of German Reunification.
Canning, Kathleen. “Responses to German Reunification.” The Journal of the International Institute. 2000. The Regents of the University of Michigan. 07 March 05
Following the post-World War II carnage and violence, a new Europe arose from the ashes. This new Europe was decimated from the intermittent fighting between the Allied and Axis powers during the second great war and the nations of Europe sought to devise a plan that to avoid further war-time conflicts within the region. The European Coal and Steel Committee was the first advent of assembling nations together in political and economic interest. The ECSC was formed in 1950 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris whose signatories included West Germany , Italy, Luxembourg, Belgium, France and The Netherlands.
Turner, Henry Ashby. Germany from Partition to Reunification. New Haven, CN: Yale University Press, 1992. Print.
Representing East Germany since Unification. From Colonization to Nostalgia? Paul Cooke. Berg. 2005 Germany since 1945. Lothar Kettenacker.
The enlargement of the European Union (EU) in 2004 and 2007 has been termed as the largest single expansion of the EU with a total of 12 new member states – bringing the number of members to 27 – and more than 77 million citizens joining the Commission (Murphy 2006, Neueder 2003, Ross 2011). A majority of the new member states in this enlargement are from the eastern part of the continent and were countries that had just emerged from communist economies (EC 2009, Ross 2011), although overall, the enlargement also saw new member states from very different economic, social and political compared to that of the old member states (EC 2009, Ross 2011). This enlargement was also a historical significance in European history, for it saw the reunification of Europe since the Cold War in a world of increasing globalization (EC 2009, Mulle et al. 2013, Ross 2011). For that, overall, this enlargement is considered by many to have been a great success for the EU and its citizens but it is not without its problems and challenges (EC 2009, Mulle et al. 2013, Ross 2011). This essay will thus examine the impact of the 2004/2007 enlargements from two perspectives: firstly, the impact of the enlargements on the EU as a whole, and thereafter, how the enlargements have affected the new member states that were acceded during the 2004/2007 periods. Included in the essay will be the extent of their integration into the EU and how being a part of the Commission has contributed to their development as nation states. Following that, this essay will then evaluate the overall success of the enlargement process and whether the EU or the new member states have both benefited from the accessions or whether the enlargement has only proven advantageous to one th...
As massive changes enveloped her country, Angela Merkel decided she needed to be a part of it. In 1989, She joined Demokratischer Aufbruchfirst, and quickly wo...
Prior to unification in 1871 the territory that would become Germany was comprised of thirty-nine independent states and city states joined together in a loose German Confederation. The most powerful among these states was Prussia, both geographically the largest state and that with the largest population. The influential politicians and policies that came out of Prussia were instrumental in the gradual formation of a united Germany. Beginning with the rise of Napoleon, the nineteenth century was a time of incredible change which dramatically altered the political balance of Europe. In order to understand the factors that culminated in official German unification on January 18, 1871, it is necessary to examine the preceding decades.
Larsson, Thomas. The Race to the Top: The Real Story of Globalization. Cato Institute, 2001.