Franco-German relations - 28th annual conference
28 June, 2012 - 30 June, 2012
Franco-German Institute Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg, Germany
January 2013 sees the 50th anniversary of the Elysée Treaty, reason enough to devote this year’s conference to Franco-German relations: their development, the way they work, the institutions involved, their achievements and limits. Recently, however, there have been a number of studies by historians and social scientists on this subject, leading to the question of what makes the nature of the Franco-German relationship in the post-war era so special: Is it the result of a unique historical constellation in Western Europe arising from the Second World War, the post-war era and the Cold War? Or is it an individual manifestation of universally definable factors which could also apply to other constellations? As in previous years, the conference will have an interdisciplinary approach and broad scope.
The following list of topics is open to further suggestions:
· The relationship and the role of bilateralism within European integration
· The preconditions for Franco-German leadership in Europe
· Core concepts such as reconciliation and cooperation
· The role of civil society in bilateral relations
· The principles of German and French European policy
· De Gaulle’s legacy
· The momentum in particular areas of the relationship: e.g. culture, the economy
· Social change: do the special ties between social, political and state actors eventually lead to closer cooperation or even to a transformation of the relationship between the two societies?
· The institutional framework: which specific institutional characteristics result in the interdependence of political or civil society actors? How important is or was this interdependence for the lasting stability of the relationship (e.g. Franco-German Youth Organsiation)?