Germany - evolution versus stability
- Binding: paperback
- Author: collective work
- Publisher: Instytut Zachodni
- PL ISSN: 0033-2437
- Publication date: 13 January 2023
- Number: 3/2022
- Number of pages: 286
- Size: A5
Germany’s multifaceted evolution in this century has reached what may well be a crucial breakthrough. Whether it is depends on what unfolds over the next few years. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s reference to a Zeitenwende and an epoch-making turnaround made in the first days of the Russian assault on Ukraine are yet to be fully fleshed out in German security policy. In a parallel development, Germany’s domestic political scene has been increasingly breaking the mold through successive Bundestag elections with the decline of traditional major political parties and the occasional surprising triumphs of new and radical groups. Against the dynamic background outlined in the initial articles of this Przegląd Zachodni edition, a compelling paper tackles relations between the state and churches and religious associations. A related example of the application of the Basic Law, which dates back to the Weimar Constitution of 1919, demonstrates that the political solutions successfully adopted in such diverse conditions remain admirably stable.
The views of the attendees of the Institute for Western Affairs June 2022 conference gathered in the Reviews and Comments section provide a counterpoint to the above issues. They look back at the upheavals and dramatic events associated with the collapse of East Germany and the hardships suffered during Germany’s lengthy reunification post 1990. The following generation, which grew up in a reunified state, shows how major political changes transform the lives of societies and individuals over the long term.
More on change and stability in this edition of the quarterly can be gleaned from articles addressing European issues and specifically the treatment of France in the policies of its neighbors, the Visegrad Group, and the Three Seas Initiative. After several years, our section on the History of the Institute for Western Affairs is back.