Germany as a Kin-State

The Development and Implementation of a Norm-Consistent External Minority Policy towards Central and Eastern Europe

Bibliographic Data

ID11047508
AuthorsKarl Cordell (University of Plymouth, corresponding author), Stefan Wolff (0000-0001-9931-5309)
Year2007
Volume35
Issue2
Pages289-315
Publication date2007-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNationalities Papers (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-5992 • E-ISSN: 1465-3923
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1080/00905990701254367
OpenAlexW1986076265
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited18

Germany's role as a kin-state of ethnic German minorities in Central and Eastern Europe stems from a number of factors. At one level it is part and parcel of a unique historical legacy. It is also inextricably linked with the country's foreign policy towards this region. The most profound policy that the Federal Republic of Germany developed in this context after the early 1960s was Ostpolitik, which contributed significantly to the peaceful end of the Cold War, but has remained relevant thereafter despite a fundamentally changed geopolitical context, as Germany remains a kin-state for hundreds of thousands of ethnic Germans across Central and Eastern Europe, particularly in the former Soviet Union, in Poland, Romania, and Hungary. As such, a policy towards these external minorities continues to form a significant, but by no means the only, manifestation of Ostpolitik

Cold war · Context (archaeology · Development economics · East-Central Europe · Economic history · Economics · Economy · Ethnic group · European union · Foreign policy · Geography · Geopolitics · German · International trade · Norm (philosophy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Soviet union · State (computer science · European history and politics · History · Law · Religion and Society Interactions