RSVP to Elizabeth Amrien at edamrien@bu.edu
“Too big for a balance of power in Europe and too small for hegemony.” That is how historian Ludwig Dehio described the German dilemma after unification in 1871. The European Union was supposed to do away with this by embedding Germany in a system of institutions. Still, many fear that 25 years after reunification Germany finds itself again in the trap of “not being powerful enough to impose its will on the continent, but at the same time powerful enough to be perceived as a threat by other powers.” What answers are provided by the German roles in the three defining crises of the past years: eurozone debt, Ukraine/Russia, and refugees?