The European Powers And The German Question

The course of recent German history has been volatile. Events in Eastern Europe, the collapse of European Communism and German Re-Unification has brought issues of Germany's status into the arena of world politics. The Question of German Unification presents an introduction to the last two hundred years of German history and addresses questions raised by the status of Germany as a single or split national state. Imanuel Geiss: * argues that Germany has fluctuated all too frequently, and catastrophically, between being the power centre of Europe or a power vacuum * describes the special features of German history and looks at Germany within a European framework * analyses the political, economic and social aspects of German Nationalism as well as the impact of the collapse of Communism on Germany, through detailing long-term structures and processes * includes discussion of recent political events as well as a chronology and further reading. Imanuel Geiss reflects on the irrationalities of German history, surveys how they have been explained by historians, and provides a succinct and readable account of the complex issues involved.

Focuses on German-American relations since 1945, including discussion of the postwar occupation of Germany by the Western allies and the Soviet Union.

This is a lucid and well-structured text dealing with key issues in international affairs from the period of German unification to the aftermath of World War I. It: * Provides excellent explanation and analysis of the central issues * Clarifies a notoriously complex period of international history * Updates traditional books in this field of 19th and 20th century diplomatic/international history * Takes a thematic approach * Leads students through the main events and reviews recent trends in historical debate and scholarship * Includes an annotated bibliography Consideration of `the German problem' and `the Balkan problem' have taken on a new urgency and relevance with recent developments in Europe, and this book provides an excellent introduction to the subject.

Despite the large number of books and studies written about Metternich, there is still a period of his political career that scholars neglect to this day, the 1840s. This book offers an analysis of Metternich's German policy in the years 1840–1848 and thus fills a gap in Metternich studies. Analysing this period is important due to the fact that over the course of those less than nine years, Metternich lost his influence within the German Confederation. He represented a certain way of behaving – moderate, calm and reconciliatory – but it was an attitude which was rejected during the period of rising mass nationalism. Nevertheless, he continued to endeavour to steer this escalating nationalism, and by applying calming policies prevent it from causing armed conflicts in Europe. Since Metternich conceived the German Confederation at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as one of the pillars of the European peace settlement, the issue is viewed from the perspective of European crises of the time, from the Rhine Crisis to the Swiss civil war. Similarly, it presents his policy in a broader context of economic and social history. The book follows revisionist research on Metternich and refutes some of the clichés still associated with his policy.