Dieter Eberwein Knihy

This is the first attempt of its kind to analyse foreign policymaking in reunified Germany. The contributors cover all actors and institutions that influence foreign policy directly or indirectly, taking into account modern Germany's wider foreign relations. To this end, they examine not only classical foreign policy institutions like the Chancellery, Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence, but also other organisations such as specialised ministries, the Länder Parliament, political parties, NGOs, and the media. Built on the insights of practical experience in diplomacy, administration and Parliament as well as academic research, this volume offers an invaluable guide to German foreign policy since reunification and projects its future development at the dawn of the twenty-first century.

The collected essays in this book deal with scientific experiments about a real one: the transition from communism to democracy, and the transformation of command to market economies in Central and Eastern Europe. In the first part of the volume core issues involved in the breakdown and transformation of these nations are raised, among others the sequencing of economic reforms and conditions leading to political system breakdown and reconstruction. Simulation models in economics and political science which might be useful to explore systematically the complexity and dynamics of transformation processes are reviewed. Simulation experiments using such models are presented in the second part analyzing alternative developmental paths of the societies in Central and Eastern Europe. Will some of the Eastern European nations be able to integrate into the world economy? How will Poland achieve the transition from a supply to a demand driven economy? What are the implications of the transition to democracy for the former GDR for political stability? And to what extent will the former GDR economy be able to catch up with that of the former FRG? Finally, data availability and quality for systematically reconstructing past developments and analyzing present trends is discussed in detail.