Résumé

Abstract

In keeping with the basic thrust of the approach to Germany, Olaf Kühne and Florian Weber have given central attention to illuminating the “geographies of complexity”. Of course, an overall representation is undoubtedly complicated, but the authors were and are concerned with the elaboration of facets of the complexity of what is known as Germany, today. The relationships of different elements of a system possessing complex functions against the background of uncertainty and contingency should accordingly come into focus. The twentieth century has seen the gradual emergence of increasingly specialized subfields of geography, i.e. vertical geographies. However, a regional geographic approach for Springer’s “World Regional Geography” series requires interdisciplinary perspectives in order to trace the relation(s) between components of a complex system, including associate aspects of physical spatiality, history, politics, urban planning, society, etc. Therefore, the authors have combined positivist and constructivist approaches in their explanations in a neopragmatic approach, whereby their basic argumentation is a constructivist one that refrains from absolutely incontrovertible truths. It becomes very clear that Germany cannot be viewed singularly on its own but is embedded in interactions from the global to the local scale. Fact that the complexity is not limited to Germany but also has an impact on supranational entities. Consequently, the geography of Germany can thereby only attempt to provide an interim synopsis, while at the same time offering readers an introduction to complex social realities.