Preparing for the Political: German Intellectuals Confront the "Berlin Republic"

Abstract

The German word Begriindung has a double meaning. It signifies not only foundation, but also providing a rationale. We are now approaching the Begriindung of what has been variously called the new Federal Republic, the Third Republic, or, most commonly, the Berlin Republic. Of course, one could argue that the real historical break already occurred eight years ago, with the unification of the two Germanies in October 1990 as its official completion. But while 3 October 1990 might have been a formal foundation, there was arguably insufficient time for the other dimension of Begriindung in the rush to unity.l More importantly, the federal government's move to Berlin, scheduled for 1999, is a highly symbolic, almost constitutional Begriindung of the Berlin Republic in a way that the anticlimactic unification in 1990 never was.2 Moreover, 1999 is the official starting date for European Economic and Monetary Union. Consequently, we can speak of a looming double foundation that poses the challenge of establishing normative foundations and creating public meaning. In this paper, I want to analyze the public interventions of German intellectuals who have attempted to lay down normative foundations for the future polity of the Berlin Republic. Because of the relatively