As Germany - only recently united - approaches the twenty-first century, it is faced with a variety of political, economic and social problems that will put the country to the test.

Some argue that the defining characteristics Germany inherited from the Federal Republic of Germany - characteristics that guaranteed West Germany's stability over four decades - are being challenged in the unification process. Others see the "German model," with its social stability and its continuous economic growth rates, in a major crisis.

Whenever the question of Germany's stability becomes prominent, there rises also a concern that is rooted in the record of Germany in the twentieth century: the historical experience suggests that Germany has a tendency to resort to authoritarian solutions when faced with political, economic, and social turmoil. In other words, Germany might not only be in trouble - Germany might herself be trouble.

This concern is certainly paramount for Germany's neighbors, who are already faced with Germany again becoming the dominant power in the center of Europe. Will the twenty-first century be faced with the incertitude allemandes, the "German troubles," as was the twentieth century?