Overview

The narrative of postwar Germany’s moral and political dilemma, as a nation unwilling to assume a leadership role in the international community, despite its size and economic might, for fear of becoming dominant, is well rehearsed. Germany’s postwar power has been bounded by the rules and requirements of international institutions and its own constitution. Economic prosperity quickly became a proxy for the conventional exercise of power. Yet, recent crises have made the country’s ambivalence to power difficult to sustain. Scholz’s declaration of a Zeitenwende (end of an era) launched questions about Germany’s international role, not least in supporting Ukraine against a Russian aggressor. In this timely interrogation of the German state, Mark Vail traces Germany’s reluctant embrace of power from nineteenth-century industrialization and state formation to its current self-re-examination and reconsideration of national identity and international responsibility.

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9781788218528

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Reviews

Mark Vail offers a compelling critique of Germany’s malaise by attributing it to the dominance of administrative traditions, which have hobbled the country in dealing with its fiscal policy, energy strategy and defence posture. The book is a clarion call for a return to a more active developmental state to recapture the transformative dynamism needed for overcoming the current stagnation. -- Konrad Jarausch, Professor Emeritus of History, University of North Carolina

Mark Vail offers a compelling critique of Germany’s malaise by attributing it to the dominance of administrative traditions, which have hobbled the country in dealing with its fiscal policy, energy strategy and defence posture. The book is a clarion call for a return to a more active developmental state to recapture the transformative dynamism needed for overcoming the current stagnation. -- Konrad Jarausch, Professor Emeritus of History, University of North Carolina Mark Vail’s timely book is noteworthy for many reasons but its focus on historically rooted competing state traditions stands out. His conceptual approach to explain contemporary political challenges in Germany is novel, thoughtful and thought-provoking, and invites the reader to make connections across time and policy areas. The study is a must-read for scholars of comparative European politics in general and German politics in particular. -- Helga A. Welsh, Professor Emerita, Department of Politics and International Affairs, Wake Forest University How do German elites think about the economy? An important question, for everybody affected by the decisions of Europe's most powerful economy - and one that has until now been hard to answer. Fusing political economy and intellectual history, Vail explains why German elites have adopted, with moral and intellectual conviction, policies can that make little sense to outsiders. This book is the crucial missing piece to understand Europe's decisions in crises from the Great Recession to the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the second election of Trump, and the potential for a new approach in Germany and Europe -- Scott L. Greer, Professor of Health Management and Policy, Global Public Health and Political Science (by courtesy),University of Michigan- Ann Arbor

Author Information

Mark I. Vail is Worrell Chair of Politics and International Affairs at Wake Forest University. He is the author of Liberalism in Illiberal States: Ideas and Economic Adjustment in Contemporary Europe (2018).

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