The Paradox of German Power - Softcover

Hans Kundnani

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1849047197 ISBN 13: 9781849047197

Publisher: C. Hurst & Co Publishers, 2016

Synopsis

A 'German Europe' seems to have emerged from the euro crisis. During the last few years, Chancellor Angela Merkel has been compared with Hitler in the European media and on the streets of European capitals. There has been much debate about German 'hegemony' and some have even perceived the emergence of a kind of German 'empire' within Europe. And yet Germany is clearly a different country than it was in the nineteenth or early twentieth centuries. So is there a new 'German question' and, if so, what is it? In The Paradox of German Power Hans Kundnani explores the transformation of Germany since re-unification in 1990 and puts it in the context of Germany's pre-1945 history. He examines a series of tensions in German foreign policy -- between continuity and change, between 'normality' and 'abnormality', between economics and politics, and between Europe and the world -- and concludes that the 'German question' has reemerged in geo economic form.

About this title

About the Author:

Hans Kundnani is Senior Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, having previously worked as a journalist for The Guardian, The Observer, Financial Times, Prospect, and the Times Literary Supplement. He is the author of Utopia or Auschwitz: Germany's 1968 Generation and the Holocaust.

Review:

"A brilliant book with an exceptionally astute analysis. Hans Kundnani holds up a mirror to Germany that is as sympathetic as it is critical and asks questions that Germans should also be asking themselves." --Heinrich August Winkler

"A major contribution to our understanding of the evolution of contemporary Europe." -- Anthony Giddens, House of Lords

"A thoughtfully conceived, well-informed, and carefully researched history of the 'German question' and its relevance for Europe's future." --Geoff Eley, Karl Pohrt Distinguished University Professor of Contemporary History, University of Michigan

"Germany has always been Europe's most complex power. Hans Kundnani, who is already an authority on its recent history, sets out the 'paradoxes of German power' today with characteristic verve. His account should be read by all opinion formers and politicians concerned with the future of our continent." --Brendan Simms, Professor in the History of International Relations, University of Cambridge and author of Unfinest Hour: Britain and the Destruction of Bosnia and Europe: The Struggle for Supremacy, 1453 to the Present

"Hans Kundnani has written a thoughtful and provocative book, which challenges Germany's present foreign policies head on and argues that Germany once more may have become a source of instability at the heart of Europe. He does so with a deep understanding of German history and the sharp eye of a sympathetic outsider. His book deserves to be read and thought through by anyone who cares about the future of Germany and Europe." --Hanns W. Maull, Professor and Chair of Foreign Policy and International Relations, University of Trier

"This is probably the best synthesis of the German question I've ever read." --Lucio Caracciolo, editor of Limes and founder of Heartland, Eurasian Review of Geopolitics

"Observers of the German political scene already know Hans Kundnani as one of the most perceptive observers of Germany around. The Paradox of German Power is a historically informed, carefully considered, concise treatment of the evolution and contemporary nature of German foreign policy. It will surely cement Kundnani's status as one of Europe's top analysts of Germany." --Sheri Berman, Professor of Political Science, Barnard College, Columbia University

About this edition

• Publisher: C. Hurst & Co Publishers
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1849047197
• ISBN 13: 9781849047197
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176