"The Europeanization of German Governance" addresses the concept of incorporating the federalist system adopted by the European Union and applying the Union's methods of governance to the individual German system. The difficulties with incorporating an autonomous entity into a larger federation have been viewed in the European Union organization from various aspects. The need to meld many autonomous governments into a coherent and cooperative entity is a prerequisite to the smooth operation of an entity such as the EU. Establishing broader norms to govern economics, monetary agreements, territorial disputes and differences, and human rights issues such as civil and political rights signifies the differences between individual systems of governance and the compromises necessary for the continued preservation of national identities while still melding such identities into a coherent, functional organization of autonomous states.

             The section of the chapter which addresses the Impact of European Integration on Germany establishes what parts of a national system will be altered by integration; "Europeanization" does not have to signify the obliteration or removal of individual national identities. Instead, this section of the chapter examines what aspects of national identity and government operation are likely to be affected by the integration. Such aspects include the party system, the institutional structures of governance in the individual nations to be integrated, the roles of interest groups and lobbyists, the media, and the influence on public policies (167). These aspects will naturally be affected by integration into a more federal system, and the changes in institutions and in interactions which will be necessitated by integration into a larger entity.

             This larger entity and its own structures asks the question of how much exactly will the individual nations, in this case Germany, be expected to change their own structures and policies? A later section of the chapter, Effects on Politics, examines how policies which were previously the domain of the German government now must be made to conform to the broader laws of the European Union.