German Unification and EU Enlargement: Transplantation and Adaption

Based on my book (How Germany Unified and the EU Enlarged: Negotiating the Accession through Transplantation and Adaptation, Palgrave Macmillan, 2015), the paper reflects on the processes of German unification, compared with those of Eastern enlargement of the EU, with particular attention to EU accession of the Czech Republic. It demonstrates that East Germany’s quick transformation with political and economic cushioning actually led to higher dissatisfaction among the local actors than the slower and more painful process of enlargement experienced by Central and Eastern Europe. Based on original empirical research, the paper develops a strong narrative that traces the processes of change in the two very different contexts of German unification and Eastern enlargement of the EU. To explain these interactions, the paper develops two models of political integration, labeled Transplantation and Adaptation. It suggests that political integration can take place by means of a take-over (Transplantation), or by the entity that wants to join adjusting to the norms and institutions of the accepting part (Adaptation). The concluding section of the paper points out where the research findings might travel temporarily and geographically and how the two processes have influenced the foreign policy thinking and making of the (East) Germans and Central and Eastern Europeans in the EU.