France and the Reunification of Germany

France and the Reunification of Germany

Author: Tilo Schabert

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-10-12

Total Pages: 468

ISBN-13: 3030807630

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With the collapse of the Soviet Union and its Eastern European bloc, the reunification of Germany was a major episode in the history of modern Europe — and one widely held to have been opposed by that country's centuries-old enemy, France. But while it has been previously believed that French President François Mitterrand played a negative role in events leading up to reunification, this book shows that Mitterrand's main concern was not the potential threat of an old nemesis but rather that a reunified Germany be firmly anchored in a unified Europe. Updated with a new introduction and other materials, the book blends primary research and interviews with key actors in France and Germany to take readers behind the scenes of world governments as a new Europe was formed. Tilo Schabert had unprecedented, exclusive access to French presidential archives and here focuses on French diplomacy not only to dispel the notion that Mitterrand was reluctant to accept reunification but also to show how successful he was in bringing it about.


Beyond the Wall

Beyond the Wall

Author: Elizabeth Pond

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2010-12-01

Total Pages: 394

ISBN-13: 9780815705796

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Beyond the Wall is the first book, in either English or German, to tell the whole story of the extraordinary revolution that demolished the Berlin Wall, ended the Cold war, and tore apart the Soviet regime. Elizabeth Pond, former Moscow and European correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor, was an eyewitness to the dramatic events of 1989-92 and to the fifteen years of relations between Germany and Eastern Europe leading up to them. Pond weaves together in riveting prose the strands of events that are usually recounted separately. Rather than looking just at the East German revolt or the process of unification that created a new nation, she traces the interaction of these events and their diplomatic consequences for Europe. Pond shows the political, economic, and social forces at work--leading up to the unification, during the transition process, and in the aftermath. Looking at the European framework, she explains how significantly the European Community and its move toward integration both affected and were affected by German unification. The book contains a wealth of new information form hundreds of interviews with top German and American policymakers, East German Politburo members and average German citizens. It also incorporates up-to-date research on such topics as the Stasi secret police and the midlife crisis of the German left. Pond concludes with an assessment of the roles of the United States and a unified Germany in the new Europe. Calling for a continued partnership between the United States and Germany, who "have come through a common baptism of fire since the fall of the Berlin Wall," Pond casts an optimistic eye toward the future.


Robert Schuman

Robert Schuman

Author: Alan Fimister

Publisher: Peter Lang

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 9789052014395

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On 9th May 1950 Robert Schuman (1886-1963) made the historic declaration that would form the foundation of the European Community. What is seldom appreciated is the remarkable degree to which Schuman's actions were the conscious implementation of the Neo-Thomistic project of Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903). Leo sought to employ the intellectual resources of St Thomas Aquinas to achieve «the restoration, both in rulers and peoples, of the principles of the Christian life in civil and domestic society». The resolution of the Church's difficulties with the French Republic and republicanism generally was a central goal of Leo's programme. In the half-century that followed a series of philosophers sought to envisage the concrete conditions under which Leo's vision could be realised. Foremost among them was Jacques Maritain (1882-1973). Robert Schuman was a close student of Aquinas and committed to the reconciliation of the Church and the Republic. As French Foreign Minister he sought to act upon Maritain's belief that a European federation conceived under the banner of liberty would ultimately lead to the establishment of a new Christendom.


German Unification and the Union of Europe

German Unification and the Union of Europe

Author: Jeffrey Anderson

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1999-06-10

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 9780521643900

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This book explores the effects of Germany's unification in 1990 on its policies toward the European Union.


Germany and the European Union

Germany and the European Union

Author: Simon Bulmer

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2018-11-08

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 1350311561

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Winner of the UACES Best Book Prize 2020 The jury commented 'It is impossible to study or understand European integration without understanding Germany's role and place in this. This book is therefore a must-read'. This new textbook offers a path-breaking interpretation of the role of the European Union's most important member state: Germany. Analyzing Germany's domestic politics, European policy, relations with partners, and the resultant expressions of power within the EU, the text addresses such key questions as whether Germany is becoming Europe's hegemon, and if Berlin's European policy is being constrained by its internal politics. The authors – both leading scholars in the field – situate these questions in their historical context and bring the subject up to date by considering the centrality of Germany to the liberal order of the EU over the last turbulent decade in relation to events including the Eurozone crisis and the 2017 German federal election. This is the first comprehensive and accessible guide to a fascinating relationship that considers both the German impact on the EU and the EU's impact on Germany. This book is the ideal companion for undergraduate and postgraduate students who are studying the European Union or German Politics from the perspectives of disciplines as wide ranging as Politics, European Union Studies, Area Studies, Economics, Business and History. It is also an essential resource for all those studying or practicing EU policy-making and communication.


Russia and Germany Reborn

Russia and Germany Reborn

Author: Angela E. Stent

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2000-03-13

Total Pages: 325

ISBN-13: 1400822807

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The relationship between Russia and Germany has been pivotal in some of the most fateful events of the twentieth century: the two World Wars, the Cold War, and the emergence of a new Europe from the ashes of communism. This is the first book to examine the recent evolution of that tense and often violent relationship from both the Russian and German perspectives. Angela Stent combines interviews with key international figures--including Mikhail Gorbachev--with insights gleaned from newly declassified archives in East Germany and her own profound understanding of Russian-German relations. She presents a remarkable review of the events and trends of the past three decades: the onset of d tente, the unification of Germany, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the rise of an uncertain new European order. Stent reveals the chaos and ambivalence behind the Soviet negotiating strategy that led--against Gorbachev's wishes--to that old Soviet nightmare, a united Germany in NATO. She shows how German strength and Russian weakness have governed the delicate dance of power between recently unified Germany and newly democratized Russia. Finally, she lays out several scenarios for the future of Russian-German relations--some optimistic and others darkened by the threat of a new authoritarianism. Russia and Germany Reborn is crucial reading for anyone interested in a relationship that changed the course of the twentieth century and that will have a powerful impact on the next.


Rethinking Europe's Future

Rethinking Europe's Future

Author: David P. Calleo

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2003-03-02

Total Pages: 411

ISBN-13: 069111367X

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Rethinking Europe's Future is a major reevaluation of Europe's prospects as it enters the twenty-first century. David Calleo has written a book worthy of the complexity and grandeur of the challenges Europe now faces. Summoning the insights of history, political economy, and philosophy, he explains why Europe was for a long time the world's greatest problem and how the Cold War's bipolar partition brought stability of a sort. Without the Cold War, Europe risks revisiting its more traditional history. With so many contingent factors--in particular Russia and Europe's Muslim neighbors--no one, Calleo believes, can pretend to predict the future with assurance. Calleo's book ponders how to think about this future. The book begins by considering the rival ''lessons'' and trends that emerge from Europe's deeper past. It goes on to discuss the theories for managing the traditional state system, the transition from autocratic states to communitarian nation states, the enduring strength of nation states, and their uneasy relationship with capitalism. Calleo next focuses on the Cold War's dynamic legacies for Europe--an Atlantic Alliance, a European Union, and a global economy. These three systems now compete to define the future. The book's third and major section examines how Europe has tried to meet the present challenges of Russian weakness and German reunification. Succeeding chapters focus on Maastricht and the Euro, on the impact of globalization on Europeanization, and on the EU's unfinished business--expanding into ''Pan Europe,'' adapting a hybrid constitution, and creating a new security system. Calleo presents three models of a new Europe--each proposing a different relationship with the U.S. and Russia. A final chapter probes how a strong European Union might affect the world and the prospects for American hegemony. This is a beautifully written book that offers rich insight into a critical moment in our history, whose outcome will shape the world long after our time.


The Construction of Europe

The Construction of Europe

Author: S. Martin

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-03-09

Total Pages: 307

ISBN-13: 9401583684

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Stephen Martin* The fourteen essays that constitute this work provide a coherent review of the past and present of the European Community, and consider some of its possible futures. Werner Abelshauser and Richard Griffiths offer separate perspectives on the precursors of the European Community. Abelshauser argues that comparison of the fates of the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Defense Community demonstrate the dominance of political over economic considerations in the integration process. Griffiths considers the stillborn European Political Community, many of the proposed features of which, somewhat transformed, were embodied in the Treaty of Rome. Both suggest that as a practical matter a coming together of French and German interests has been a precondition for advances in European integration. Stephen Martin and Andrew Evans discuss the development of the Com munity's Structural Funds, first envisaged as tools to smooth the transition from a collection of regional economies to a continent-wide single market, now increasingly seen as devices to guide adjustment to long-term struc tural problems. Stuart Holland emphasizes the role of the Structural Funds as one element in a broad range of strategies to ensure social and economic cohesion as the Maastrict Treaty ushers the European Union into the next stage of its development.