Germanys Reconciliation Process: Political Agency towards an Ideal-type of Reconciliation

Abstract

Why could Germany reconcile its relations with the countries that were victims of Nazism, even after the first elected conservative government of West Germany pursued policies that aimed at drawing a finish line? Previous explanations can be divided into three groups: cultural, structural, and agency. In this thesis, I develop the latter explanation by extending the category of political agents to intellectuals who have greatly contributed to the political discourse on reconciliation in Germany. Moreover, I examine whether Germanys political agents have pushed towards reconciliation that resembles an ideal-type. Based on this examination, I argue that the Germany could reconcile its relations with the countries that were victims of Nazism because it always had political agents, especially intellectuals and Federal Presidents, who not only opposed opportunistic policies of the government, but also helped to establish and uphold a normative boundary.