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Article: Come in, the water's everywhere: Germany. (foreign relations)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- February 27, 1993
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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FOR a "partner in leadership", Germany's allies are finding it maddeningly self-preoccupied. That famous phrase of ex-President George Bush's voiced a common hope in Washington: in united Germany, America at last had a European power it could take big decisions with. Even in nervous London and Paris, the up-side was eventually found to the idea of a strong Germany fully engaged in the world: for example, providing United Nations peacekeeping troops.
But shaking off the inward-looking habits of 40 years, during which Germany was divided and semi-sovereign, is proving harder than anyone expected--even for Germans (there are plenty of them) who see the need to take this ...