Dissolution of Soviet Union: Effect on Europe
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With the dissolution of the Soviet Empire, a number of other changes have come about in the sphere of Europe, and one major changed that must be faced by Western Europe today and that is also fraught with uncertainties is the advent of a reunited Germany. Germany was a question mark in the development of the European Community even before this because the German economy appears to be so superior to those of the other countries in the EC, ranking with Japan and standing as a nebulous economic threat to the rest of Europe and to the United States in the estimation of some analysts. The reunited Germany has a number of characteristics. The area of the existing Federal Republic of Germany has been expanded by 44 percent, while its population has grown by only 26 percent. There has been a gain in economic potential of about 10 percent, showing that the per capita GNP of East Germany is less than half that of West Germany. However, the reunification is boosting the German economy in terms of growth. What all this means is that as a result of the reunification, the balance of power within the EC will shift. Germany will become the major economic power in Europe to an extent even greater than it already is. This is not the first time that Germany has been a key element in the development of Europe, and more often than not Germany has been seen as a threat, spurring neighbors to build their own economic and military structures as a protection against possible Ge
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. With the end of World War II, a new Europe and a new Germany came into being, but the French continued to be suspicious of Germany and her motives. In many ways, the two countries shared common interests and objectives. LeGloannec finds that the status of France was enhanced by the differences she had with Germany in the post-war period and by the relationship that developed between the two as each needed the other. West Germany needed a reconciliation with France in pursuit of its own moral rehabilitation, and cooperation also allowed West Germany to play a political role in Europe:
On the one hand, while the Federal Republic depended on the United States for its security and its political concerns, France could claim to be one of the victors of World War II, responsible for Germany's reunification and for the defense of Berlin. . . On the other hand, de Gaulle supported Adenauer in his search for increased autonomy from the United States (17).
France's behavior was also governed by the perception that strengthening Germany in spite of fears of a strengthened Germany was necessary given the greater fear of Soviet power in the postwar period. France and other EC countries also reacted to the development of the German
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Approximate Word count = 2850
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)
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