ABSTRACT
After the first unification of Germany in 1871 it was clear to all that Europe had to deal with a new power. The second unification of Germany was achieved by telephone and checkbook rather than blood and iron. The leaders of the old Federal Republic were always deeply conscious of Germany's Cold War position as the divided center of a divided Europe and Berlin's position as the divided center of the divided center. The Federal Republic would seize with both hands the United States' offer to be "partners in leadership". The foreign policy process in Germany labors under some disadvantages familiar to other Western democracies. As in all television democracies, German politicians often seem to be following public or published opinion rather than leading it. Germany would give top priority to seeking both the rights and the duties of a world power, starting, of course, with a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
