The internationalization of the German political economy in the postwar era, particularly in the "restructuring" period since the mid-1970s, has produced a special socio-economic and political formation which this anthology views as a "hegemonic project". Based upon a virtually total West German integration into the "West", this project has evolved within a new international division of labour and a global political system in which the German state, with its extreme level of export dependency and need for stability, has become a guardian and champion of the global status quo. The contributors to this book have taken account of the developments which have arisen from the events of 1989 in the former GDR.

The internationalization of the German political economy in the postwar era has produced a special socio-economic and political formation which this anthology views as a 'hegemonic project'. Based upon a virtually total West German integration into the 'West', this project has evolved within a new international division of labour and a global political system in which the German state, with its extreme level of export dependency and need for stability, has become a guardian and champion of the global status quo.