Back to Mitteleuropa? Weber, Germany and Contemporary Central Europe

Abstract

Considers the usefulness of the concept of Mitteleuropa for Central Europe today in a comparison with the Central Europe that confronted Max Weber in the early 20th century. Just as in the contemporary period, Weber was confronted by the question of how to define the relationship between a large, powerful Germany & its Central European neighbors. At that time, Weber participated in a Mitteleuropa project, which hoped to integrate Central Europe by integrating smaller nation-states into the German culture. In so doing, he contributed to the continuation of a form of modern nationalism that focused strictly on the geopolitical interests of particular nation-states. It is suggested that economic, social, & cultural factors promise to construct a new, more productive relationship between the Federal Republic of Germany & Central Europe, provided that the Federal Republic of Germany can assuage the fears of its society in the face of new economic & political circumstances. 35 References. D. M. Ryfe