ABSTRACT
In the first decade of united Germany, much attention was focused on the dynamic, and the difficulties, which surrounded the process of unification in practice. Increasingly, the focus in economic policy dominated during the 1990s by questions of restructuring, investment and mass unemployment in the east turned after the middle of the following decade to the impact on Germany of the world economic crash. German foreign policy was the focus of considerable interest and some concern after unification, since many expected Germany to play a more significant role in world affairs. As Bundeskanzler, Helmut Kohl was keen to emphasise that Germany posed no threat, since it was fully integrated into wider European structures, and pursued greater European unity with dedication during the 1990s. Surveys in Austria showed that xenophobia and racism were more widespread than in many other European countries.
