About this item
Highlights
- Revolutionary changes in global and European politics have reawakened old fears that Europe will be dominated by an unpredictable German giant.
- About the Author: Peter J. Katzenstein is the Walter S. Carpenter, Jr.
- 328 Pages
- History, Europe
Description
About the Book
Revolutionary changes in global and European politics have reawakened old fears that Europe will be dominated by an unpredictable German giant. The same changes have fueled new hopes for Germany and Europe as models of political pluralism in a...
Book Synopsis
Revolutionary changes in global and European politics have reawakened old fears that Europe will be dominated by an unpredictable German giant. The same changes have fueled new hopes for Germany and Europe as models of political pluralism in a peaceful and prosperous world. In fact, Peter J. Katzenstein explains, the current reality is too complex to fit either expectation.
Katzenstein contends that a multilateral institutionalization of power is the most distinctive aspect of the relationship between Europe and Germany. Only the observer who is aware of this important fact can understand why Germany is willing to give up its new sovereign power. Although Germany is larger than any other member of the European Union and plays a crucial role in the economic and political life of Eastern Europe, its power is now funneled through the institutions of the European Union rather than erupting in a narrow, power-defined sense of national self-interest.
The empirical chapters of this book explore the institutionalization of power relations between the European Union and Germany, as well as the relations of Germany and the European Union with most of the smaller European states.
Review Quotes
A timely and useful volume concerning Germany's relationships with other countries involved in processes of European integration.... This outstanding scholarly work is a needed addition to the literature of the subfield.
-- "Choice"This collection bridges domestic and international levels of analysis, focusing on how the institutionalization of power matters, because it takes the hard edge off power relations... Most of the authors are central figures in this field. Several of them are connected to institutions in Central Europe, making this worthwhile book a neighbour's view on Germany.
-- "Book Notes"This important book breaks new ground in the study of the influence of Germany (especially unified Germany) in Europe.... This stimulating and persuasive study is a must for students both of Germany and Europe.... Peter Katzenstein and his colleagues deserve our thanks for a book that will stimulate further research, and further thinking, along the fruitful lines he has adopted.
-- "International Affairs"This study of the relations between Germany and a unifying Europe is important both for its contribution to the endless theoretical debate about European integration--whether it is driven by governmental bargains or by a logic of 'spillover' that constrains and reduces the sovereignty of the member states--and its analysis of Germany's relations with (mainly) the smaller states of Western and Eastern Europe.
-- "Foreign Affairs"About the Author
Peter J. Katzenstein is the Walter S. Carpenter, Jr. Professor of International Studies at Cornell University.