Introduction

Abstract

The role of Germany as an economic and political force in Europe during the twentieth century has attracted much international research interest, not only because of Germany’s geopolitical role in Europe during the two world wars and its subsequent division into two states either side of the ‘iron curtain’, but also because of the Federal Republic of Germany’s (FRG) post-war economic miracle, which enabled it to emerge as Europe’s economic powerhouse (see, for instance, Bulmer and Paterson, 1987, 1989; Smyser, 1993; Larres and Panayi, 1996). The 1990 reunification of the two Germanies has attracted further research interest (for instance, Heisenberg, 1991; Stares, 1992; Baring, 1994; Jones, 1994).