Germany and the European Union

Germany and the European Union
Author: Simon Bulmer
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2018-11-08
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1350311561

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.

Germany’s Role in European Russia Policy

Germany’s Role in European Russia Policy
Author: Liana Fix
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2021-04-24
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3030682269

This book contributes to the debate about a new German power in Europe with an analysis of Germany’s role in European Russia policy. It provides an up-to-date account of Germany’s “Ostpolitik” and how Germany has influenced EU-Russia relations since the Eastern enlargement in 2004 - partly along, partly against the interests and preferences of new member states. The volume combines a rich empirical analysis of Russia policy with a theory-based perspective on Germany’s power and influence in the EU. The findings demonstrate that despite Germany’s central role, exercising power within the EU is dependent on legitimacy and acceptance by other member states.

New Europe, New Germany, Old Foreign Policy?

New Europe, New Germany, Old Foreign Policy?
Author: Douglas Webber
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2014-01-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1135280495

This work examines the extent to which German foreign policy and European policy has changed since German unification. Despite significant changes on specific issues, most notably on the deployment of military force outside of the NATO area, there is greater continuity than change in post-unification German policy.

Germany, Civilian Power and the New Europe

Germany, Civilian Power and the New Europe
Author: H. Tewes
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2001-12-13
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0230289029

In 1990, the future of Europe's international politics hinged on two questions. How would unification affect the conduct of German foreign policy? Would those institutions that had given security and prosperity to Western Europe during the Cold War now do the same for the entire continent, and if so, how. The intersection of these questions is the topic of this book, which explores, quite plainly, what made Germany's policies towards its immediate Eastern neighbours tick.

German Unification and the Union of Europe

German Unification and the Union of Europe
Author: Jeffrey Anderson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 244
Release: 1999-06-10
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780521643900

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

Berlin Rules

Berlin Rules
Author: Paul Lever
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2017-05-30
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1786731819

In the second half of the twentieth century, Germany became the dominant political and economic power in Europe - and the arbiter of all important EU decisions. Yet Germany's leadership of the EU is geared principally to the defence of German national interests. Germany exercises power in order to protect the German economy and to enable it to play an influential role in the wider world. Beyond that there is no underlying vision or purpose.In this book, former British ambassador in Berlin Paul Lever provides a unique insight into modern Germany. He shows how the country's history has influenced its current economic and political structures and provides important perspectives on its likely future challenges and choices, especially in the context of the 2015 refugee crisis which saw over 1 million immigrants offered a home in Germany.As Britain prepares to leave the European Union, this book will be essential reading and suggests the future shape of a Germany dominated Europe.

Germany, Europe, and the Politics of Constraint

Germany, Europe, and the Politics of Constraint
Author: Klaus Goetz
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 468
Release: 2003-10-16
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780197262955

The process of European integration is marked both by continued deepening and widening, and by growing evidence of domestic disquiet and dissent. Against this background, this volume examines three key themes: the challenge to the power of member states - as subjects of European integration - to determine the course of the integrationist project and to shape European public policies; the increasing constraints in the domestic political arena experienced by member states as objects of European integration; and the contestation over both the 'constitutive politics of the EU' and specific policy choices. These three themes - power, constraint and contestation - and their interdependence are explored with specific reference to contemporary Germany. The main findings call for a revision of the 'conventional wisdom' about Germany's Europeanization experience. First, while Germany continues to engage intensively in all aspects of the integration process, its power to 'upload' - 'hard' and 'soft', 'deliberate' or 'unintentional', 'institutional' or 'ideational' - appears in decline. Germany's capacity to 'shape its regional milieu' is challenged by both changes in the integration process and the ever more apparent weaknesses of the 'German model'. The traditional regional core milieu is shrinking in size and importance in an enlarging Europe, and Germany's milieu-shaping power is being challenged. Second, the coincidence of enabling and constraining effects is being progressively replaced by a discourse that notes unwelcome constrictions associated with EU membership. The book's findings suggest that key political institutions and processes in the Federal Republic have not co-evolved with the integration process, but lead an, at times, uncomfortable co-existence. Third, domestic contestation over both everyday EU policy and the constitutional politics of integration seems set to increase. There are, as yet, no indications that these domestic conflicts will reach an intensity comparable to that of the 1950s. However, both the 'permissive' mass consensus and, perhaps more importantly, élite consensus are being tested to their limits. This volume is essential reading for students of comparative European politics and German studies.

The Federal Republic of Germany and the European Community (RLE: German Politics)

The Federal Republic of Germany and the European Community (RLE: German Politics)
Author: Simon Bulmer
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 277
Release: 2014-12-17
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1317535170

Originally published in 1987, this book examines German governmental policy from 1969-1986 and explains this in terms of the political, economic and administrative dynamics of the (then) Federal Republic. The study includes analysis of the attitudes and the role of West German interest groups, political parties, public opinion, the legislature and the federal states regarding European policy. The book is based on extensive interviews as well as the authors’ familiarity with the institutions and key players involved. It will appeal to students of German politics, the EU and international relations.