Whither hegemony? Germany and the politics of European Monetary Union (Germany)

My dissertation examines German involvement in European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) from a variety of vantage points—international, regional, and domestic. The five chapters of which the dissertation is comprised provide a broad analysis of German motives, objectives, constraints, strategies, and potential costs and benefits that Germany faces as a result of its membership in EMU. While largely concerned with events from the past, the final chapter examines events from the present and assesses the future prospects of the monetary union as well.; Chapter 1 provides an overview of the various risks that EMU presents Germany with and a number of hypotheses that attempt to explain its participation. Chapter 2 is an historical examination of U.S.-German macroeconomic and exchange rate conflicts that contributed in part to Germany's long-term interest in establishing EMU as a means of shielding itself more effectively against the adverse effects of exogenous economic shocks. Chapter 3 examines the actual EMU negotiations among European countries during the late 1980's and 1990's. Various ways in which German officials sought to influence these negotiations and thus ensure that EMU would be designed in a way consistent with Germany's internal demand for low inflation are examined. Chapter 4 assesses Germany's complex domestic debate over EMU and the various reasons why pro-EMU advocates prevailed in spite of EMU's widespread unpopularity among German citizens. Chapter 5 concludes by considering EMU's potential costs and benefits for Germany in coming years and specific ways in which Germany's interests might conflict with those of other EMU countries in the future.