German Unification and the Political Order – Thirty Years Later

Jürgen Kocka

EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, 2021, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: The history of the post-war division of Germany marks an important point of reference for inter-Korean politics. Both, South Korean president Roh Tae-woo's Nordpolitik starting in 1988 and South Korean president Kim Dae-jung's Sunshine Policy (The Reconciliation and Cooperation Policy Towards the North) of 1998 seem to have been directly inspired by West German Chancellor Willy Brandt's so-called Neue Ostpolitik (New Eastern Policy) based on Egon Bahr's concept of Wandel durch Annäherung (change through rapproachment), an early and perhaps decisive step in the de-escalation of the Cold War. Today, the peaceful transition of East Germany toward democracy and the subsequent German unification continue to provide a hopeful historical example that peace and reconciliation on the Korean peninsula may be attainable.

Keywords: German unification; non-violent revolution; East Germany; collapse of communism in Eastern Europe; NATO; question of German sovereignty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:espost:248573

DOI: 10.48770/ker.2021.no1.6

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