Między obawą a nadzieją- poszukiwanie nowej roli zjednoczonych Niemiec na arenie międzynarodowej. Zarys debaty polityków i intelektualistów w pierwszej połowie lat 90-tych

Abstract

The reunification of Germany in 1990 led to the creation of the largest and most populous EU member state. Due to Germany's past and the fact that the reunification process was surprisingly fast, questions about the role and international ambitions of reunited Germany became an important part of the international debate of the time. This question had to be answered by Germans themselves in the first place. This article presents the debates among politicians and selected intellectuals (primarily political scientists and economists) who took place in Germany in the first 5 years after the reunification. It presents key contentious issues, different visions of Ger­many's role and contradictory expectations of international players. Its fi- nal part also quotes the then criticism of specific actions of the German government on the international scene, which reflected ambivalent, often contradictory expectations towards reunited Germany.