Thesis: This paper will argue that Germany needs to secure itself as both the economic and political hegemon of Europe inside of the European Union; until its present condition and effectiveness in the global politics changes, instability in the European Union, as well as, basic fear of will always be present.

II. Historical Perspective-The two negative factors

IV. European Union-The means to and end

A. European "check and balance system"

B. The answer to a disturbing question

1) Can Germany be strong and peaceful?

The formation of a state can be both a beautiful and terrifying event . As a national you now have a home and place to live with people of a common culture and heritage, an identity. If you are a founder of the new state, there would be a sense of accomplishment of having achieved the fulfillment of a lifetime goal. Other sta

A state was formed and recognized in 1871 in the center of Europe. This event has had an enormous impact since its inception. It has been both the salvation of Europe through economic depressions and hard times, as well as, the cause for two world wars and the near decimation of Europe. Its people have been back and forth between rags and riches, democracy and dictatorships, united, broken and then reunited. This state is known as Germany.

The second problem facing Germany is the enormous expense of upgrading the shabby infrastructure which is in the east. The infrastructure includes roads, railroads, telecommunications, public service, public educational systems and the postal service. This gives Germany the chance to integrate technology and new organizational systems which will bring the east to or even surpass existing standards located in the west.

Despite the severity of these very expensive dilemmas, reunification needed to take place for the benefit both Germany and Europe. Now with the added 16 million people, the increase of physical size Germany, the situation in Eastern Europe and the existence of the European Union there has never been a better time for Europe. Possessing the resources, economies, population and production of practically the entire continent of Europe, the E.U. is in a very strong position globally.

The collapse of the Soviet empire freed of East Germany and gave it its independence. The Soviets also hold vivid memories of the two times Germany rose to the status of a world power. Both times the Germans invaded and pushed deep into Russian territory, the last thing the Soviets wanted was a unified German. However, the Soviet economy weak and collapsing was unable to retain its occupation and relinquished control in 1989.

Thirdly, is the environmental problems which are located in the east after decades of neglect. The deplorable conditions of the east are going to prove to be quite a challenge both in practice and economically. East German officials disclosed that its industry has the highest sulphur dioxide per capita producer in the world, 5.2 million tons a year. There also exists over 15,000 identified toxic waste dumps. Approximately 70% of existing East German industry fails to meet the West German environmental laws.

The European Union also sets a stage for Germany to rise to a position of the economic leader in Europe without exercising the past forms of militaristic expansionism. In the recent and almost disastrous time for the E.U. the ratification of Maastricht, the social problems of Union surfaced first in Denmark. The Danish making it absolutely clear that they are tired of Germans renting property along the Danish coast and how happy they were that Denmark beat Germany in a soccer championship match is fine. But to turn down the treaty that could bring lasting security to Europe for an extend time period is a tad short-sighted. Realizing the alternative that they could be engulfed beneath a third expansionistic military regime creates room for the questioning the wisdom of such a rejection of the proposed referendum. Granted, to say that this is the only alternative is indeed a stretch, however, the point is that the deepening of the E.U. is of absolute importance, whether it be by Maastricht or another means. As Germany grows in stature, the Germans are bound to feel that their role is changing, especially with the developments in Eastern Europe and beyond. These develo

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Approximate Word count = 2328
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)