From unification to „Zeitenwende“. The economy and society of the Berlin Republic, 1990-2020

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Hartmut Berghoff
• Subject Area: Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 555073480

This project takes stock of the central economic and social developments in the Federal Republic of Germany between unification and the upheaval of 2020 and the years that followed (Corona, Ukrainian War). Its aim is to summarize the findings in a monograph, which will be the first comprehensive economic and social history of this period. The most important challenges were the transformation of East Germany, the financial and the Euro crises, digitalization, globalization and deregulation, as well as immigration and profound social changes. Under the influence of financialization and internationalization, companies were confronted with severe challenges and had to instigate far-reaching changes. The book will contain a survey of the most important economic and social trends. It will take into account the perspective of corporations and, in addition to their internal reorganization, also include the wider social repercussions of their corporate reforms. This will also highlight the remarkable rise of white-collar crime as another characteristic of this era. Labor relations were transformed by the weakening of the collective bargaining system. While prosperity and consumption levels grew considerably on average, a low-wage sector emerged and a rising number of people lived under precarious circumstances. Finally, the state will be examined as a central actor, which means to focus on social and fiscal policy in particular. The project evaluates the relationship between discontinuities and continuities. How did the economy but also socials and political actors react to the external pressure? What were the failures and successes? Which oversimplified or downright erroneous views of the media and politics need to be corrected? The analysis focusses on different levels, looking at the economy as a whole and businesses, changes in state and society and finally social relations and disparities.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants