The tragedies that befell Germany over the last eighty years can be seen as the product of the failures of two ideologies -- fascism and communism -- to deal with the problems associated with two of the signal conditions of modern Western industrial democracies: ethnic diversity and economic class divisions.
Reunification gives Germans an opportunity to build a 21st century industrial democracy that learns the lessons of those ideological failures. While it is far too early to determine whether German has successfully addressed the problem of how to preserve democracy in an industrial (or even post-industrial) capitalist economy, it is also far too early to conclude that reunification is a failure. Reunification may be a failure to have recaptured an imagined past, but it is not a failure in the struggle to build a better future. Even after unification, Germany retains its chance to stand as a model of a modern capitalist democracy. In that respect, unification has been a qualified success.
References
Hafner, K. 1995. The House at the Bridge: A Story of Modern Germany. New York: Scribner.
Landler, M. 2008. "Assisted suicide of healthy 79-year-old renews German debate on right to die." New York Times. July 3. Accessed on June 3, 2010 at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/world/europe/03iht-03germany.14194560.html?_r=1
McAdams, a.J. 1997. "Germany After Unification: Normal at Last?" World Politics. Vol. 49. No. 2. pp. 282-308.…
Sample Source(s) Used
References
Hafner, K. 1995. The House at the Bridge: A Story of Modern Germany. New York: Scribner.
Landler, M. 2008. "Assisted suicide of healthy 79-year-old renews German debate on right to die." New York Times. July 3. Accessed on June 3, 2010 at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/03/world/europe/03iht-03germany.14194560.html?_r=1
McAdams, a.J. 1997. "Germany After Unification: Normal at Last?" World Politics. Vol. 49. No. 2. pp. 282-308.
Walker, M. 2002-2003. "The Winter of Germany's Discontent. World Policy Journal. Vol. XIX. No. 4. pp. 37-47.
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