Theoretical approaches to the position of Germany in Europe: An assessment 20 years after the German reunification

This article critically reviews the theories on Germany’s position and future in Europe. While historical and cultural approaches are “pessimistic” about reunified Germany’s relations with European nations, sociological, institutional and functionalist approaches, though for different reasons, are pretty “optimistic.” Besides, the hegemony approach reflects on non-purposive reasons for German expansion. This article checks these approaches against the data twenty years after the German reunification and concludes that the assumptions of the pessimistic view should be rejected whereas the assumptions of the optimistic view are held. However, the assumption that Germany would function as a locomotive for the European economy has not yet been realized mainly because of the economic and financial difficulties the reunification caused and of the global recession we have been experiencing since 2007.