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Al-Ahram Weekly 16 - 22 December 1999 Issue No. 460 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 16 - 22 December 1999 Issue No. 460
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Debate Focus Profile Living Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters A question of identity
By Salama Ahmed Salama
Most political analysts consider the fall of the Berlin Wall (marking the collapse of the bipolar system) and the Gulf War the two most outstanding events of the end of the 20th century. Today, the Eastern European countries under Soviet domination have succeeded in overthrowing their authoritarian and repressive regimes, emerging as democracies and free-market economies, which enjoy greater affluence, freedom and stability. In contrast, the Gulf War has taken a devastating toll on Arab and Middle Eastern countries, resulting in their elimination of their citizens' most basic freedoms, and has further accentuated the cultural gap between these countries and the developed world.
Ten years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Iron Curtain, Europe is going through a transitional stage. It enjoys far more stability than it once did, and is more profoundly aware of its interests and objectives. Yet its present situation may be described as one of political fluidity. Predicting the course Europe will follow in the future may be difficult, even bewildering, in view of current circumstances and imminent developments: the restructuring of NATO, the identification of its new objectives, which stretch beyond the geographical borders of its member nations, and its expansion, to include most of the countries that formed a part of the dismembered Soviet Union.
Little wonder that the war in Chechnya is sending cold shivers up spines in those Eastern European nations that are still outside NATO's warm blanket. The ethnic war in Kosovo and the Balkans also fanned many of the fears they had kept so carefully suppressed, driving them to seek the surest and fastest means to join the European Union, to guarantee economic and political belonging, and NATO, to avail themselves of a defence umbrella.
In the heart of Europe, Germany may be the country that is most profoundly affected by these changes at the national and European levels, and, to a far lesser extent, at the international level. Having regained its unity and territorial integrity and restored its sovereignty over its eastern provinces, which had been under communist rule, Germany has emerged as the strongest power in Europe in terms of economic and human resources. Its moves are slow and carefully deliberated, so that it raises no fears on any side. For the first time in its history, Germany is on friendly terms with its neighbours; it considers itself pivotal for the stability, unity and well-being of Europe.
When Germany celebrated the tenth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall a few weeks ago, however, the question of its identity was raised once again. Has Germany become a big power, after moving its capital to Berlin? Can one detect a distinct identity associated with Berlin and separate from the dictators who ruled the GDR, or from the period of division and fragmentation that characterised Germany's post-War years? The answer the Germans are formulating, cautiously but ambitiously, is: Yes. They feel Germany has become a major European power, but not a superpower. Who will say if they are right or wrong?
