Familiar Strangers
Czech-German Relations, 1989-2021
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The Czech Republic and Germany have managed to overcome the confrontational relationship that marked their relationship throughout the 20th century. Contentious historical issues have been settled. Conflicts that arise from the asymmetrical distribution of power and competing interests are resolved pragmatically. Relations are institutionalized and stable. That applies to the regional, intergovernmental, and international levels within the EU and NATO. Nonetheless, German-Czech social integration remains weak. And political questions involving strategic preferences and values, such as attitudes towards migration, nation, and sovereignty, are strongly influenced by domestic political constellations and can easily cloud bilateral relations.
(Osteuropa 4-6/2021, pp. 183–204)