Hans Kundnani — "The Return Of The German Question"

One of the key geopolitical issues in Europe prior to the Second World War was how the power of Germany could be effectively balanced by other European states. Hans Kundnani assesses the relevance of these historical debates to the current situation within Europe in the aftermath of the Eurozone crisis. He argues that while Germany is no longer a threat from a military perspective, its economic power has put intolerable pressures on other members of the Eurozone, generating instability in much the same way as its previous military power once did. This instability is now centred around the standoff between creditor and debtor countries, underlined by the victory of Syriza in the Greek parliamentary elections, and potential future electoral success for parties such as Podemos in Spain.…

A chief reason that the EZ is not an optimal currency zone. The euro is really the DM that the rest of the EZ is forced to use now that they have given up monetary sovereignty and fallen under a regime controlled by the "North," and chiefly by Germany. The adoption of the euro was supposed to transcend historical nationalistic rivalries but it has exacerbated them.

Social Europe Journal
"The Return Of The German Question"

Hans Kundnani