German Unification and the Political Order - Thirty Years Later

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

Looking Back on the Sonderweg

Central European History has opened its pages again and again to the controversial debate about the so-called German Sonderweg. With that in mind, and on the occasion of this important journal's fiftieth anniversary, the following essay presents some very selective and personal thoughts on this topic. Although discussed and promoted much less frequently now than in previous decades, and although there are understandable reasons why it has left the center stage of scholarly debate, the approach to modern German history signified by this problematic concept has not been disproven or become obsolete. But, confronted by severe criticism, it has been - and can be - rethought and revised

Historia global: oportunidades, peligros, tendencias recientes

In contrast to national historical approaches, global history responds to the cultural and intellectual needs of communities, societies and cultures are increasingly interconnected. Global history is an appropriate way of looking to “our past”, in an era of accelerated globalization, helping to “de-provincialize” the discipline. For historians of Europe, global history approaches offer a useful ground for embedding, relativizing and enriching their views and perspectives, even when they continue to work as historians of Europe and do not contemplate to become global historians. As many examples show, global history is emerging as a field in which new forms of cooperation between history and the neighbouring disciplines, particularly the social sciences, can be practiced in new ways. Global history revives the interest in comprehensive structures and large-scale processes; it enhances the analytical power of history as a discipline. It also raises several problems which are not yet resolved. Very different types of discourses and studies are usually lumped together under the heading of “global history”, four of them are here considered.En contraste con los enfoques de la historia nacional, la historia global responde a las necesidades culturales e intelectuales de comunidades, sociedades y culturas que están interconectadas de forma creciente. La historia global es una forma apropiada de mirar “nuestro pasado” en una era de acelerada globalización, ayudando a “des-provincializar” la disciplina. Para los historiadores de Europa, los enfoques de la historia global ofrecen una útil base para alojar, relativizar y enriquecer sus puntos de vista y perspectivas, incluso si continúan trabajando como historiadores de Europa y no quieren convertirse en historiadores globales propiamente dicho. Como muchos ejemplos muestran, la historia global está emergiendo como un campo en el que nuevas formas de cooperación entre la historia y las disciplinas vecinas, particularmente las ciencias sociales, pueden ser probadas y practicadas en nuevos modos. La historia global revive el interés en estructuras comprensivas y procesos a gran escala, mejora el poder analítico de la historia como disciplina. Muy diferentes tipos de discursos y estudios son englobados usualmente bajo el título de “historia global”, cuatro de ellos son aquí considerados

Übertriebener Datenschutz behindert Historische Forschung

Mit seinem Urteil vom 30. Januar 1985 hat das Landgericht Frankenthal festgestellt, daß eine Datenübermittlung aus Personenstandbüchern durch Einsichtnahme von Universitätsprofessoren, die an diesen Daten aus wissenschaftlichen Gründen interessiert sind, rechtswidrig ist. Die sich aus diesem Urteil für die sozialhistorische Forschung ergebenden praktischen Probleme zeigen bereits erste Auswirkungen. Erfolgt die Auslegung der Gesetze weiterhin so eng wie bisher, wird nach Meinung des Autors nicht nur das Grundrecht auf Wissenschaftsfreiheit erheblich verletzt, sondern verliert die deutsche historische Sozialforschung mangels empirisch belegbarer Daten auch den Anschluß an die internationale Diskussion