THE FORMATIVE DEBATES AND ARGUMENTS SUSTAINING GERMANY’S SUPRANATIONALISM: A Rhetorical History of Political and Economic Ideas

“To see the whole picture, we have to step out of the frame. This book invites those outside the frame to step into it. Its author, a German-American dual national, born and raised in the United States and subsequently educated in Germany and the United Kingdom, walks his readers through the mythologies and historiography of Germany’s post-war political elites. Much of the first-hand material included here has not been published in English before. It offers its readers a unique glimpse inside the frame and, it is hoped, will diminish anxieties and reduce confusion about Germany’s reliability on the world stage by engendering a contextualized understanding of, and appreciation for, the choices Germany makes in an uncertain world.” – Prof. Werner Weidenfeld, Ludwig-Maximilians-University

“Ruppert’s investigative textual analysis reveals a critical historical narrative that is far too little known in the Anglo-American world, where explanation has been dominated by economistic reasoning. It carries a great deal of explanatory force and contributes to the growing body of evidence that culture, too, must be taken into account when analyzing the genesis and pursuit of state policy. It helps us understand why the then German government was able to support intervention in Afghanistan, but not in Iraq, and why Chancellor Angela Merkel, like her predecessors, is so firmly committed to the European Constitution. It provides important constants to consider in predicting German action and reaction on the international stage.” – Prof. William E Paterson OBE, Birmingham University
“Much of this material has remained in German archives, untranslated and hence inaccessible to a wider, English-speaking academy. Ruppert’s translations are faithful and, where necessary, he provides further contextual information. He is thus able to demonstrate that language is a chronicler, a creator and a sustainer of ideas crucially shaping policy trajectories.” – Prof. Wilfried van der Will, University of Birmingham