Developments In German Politics

This provides authoritative coverage as well as wide-ranging and integrated analysis of politics and policy in Germany today and of its role in Europe and the wider world. Bringing together extensively revised and updated chapters by leading authorities, it will be essential for students and anyone interested in European politics.

Developments in German Politics 2 provides a wide-ranging analysis of the political institutions, policy processes and party system of the Federal Republic in the years after unification. It gives an account of the key issues on the political agenda - economic governance, social integration, the legal order and civil rights, organised interests and gender politics. It also assesses the identity of the new Germany, its role in Europe and the wider international system.

This book gives up-to-date assessments of key trends and issues in the Federal Republic with sufficient background analysis to make the treatment of the various topics accessible to those without detailed prior knowledge of German politics.

Once the miracle economy of the continent, Germany now staggers under the massive cost burden of unification while it struggles to come to terms with global economic change. Failure to confront the underlying economic weakness has discredited political institutions and patterns of political behavior that were once regarded as the 'efficient secret' of economic success. The country stands at the crossroads between economic reform and a spiral of economic decline with unpredictable fallout. Bringing together entirely new chapters by leading authorities in the field, Developments in German Politics 3 examines the unfolding crisis of German political economy; its repercussions for polity, politics, and policy; and the consequences for Germany's role in Europe and the wider world. Like its predecessors, this book will be of interest to all concerned with European politics and will be necessary reading for students of German politics and society. Contributors. David P. Conradt, Russell J. Dalton, Kenneth Dyson, Klaus H. Goetz, Simon Green, Adrian Hyde-Price, Charlie Jeffery, Stephen Padgett, William E. Paterson, Wolfgang Rüdig, Martin Seeleib-Kaiser, Gordon Smith, Roland Sturm

In this stimulating book, a leading expert on German affairs provides an overview of German political development since 1945. The key to the well-being and prosperity of Europe after 1945 was the creation of a stable and democratic West Germany. Unification in 1990 not only transformed Germany's role in Europe and the world but brought new political, social and economic problems caused by the vast expense of unity and high labour costs. The author argues that these great changes provide a new and daunting challenge to the Bonn system by calling into question the Berlin Republic's ability to meet the needs of the German nation. The difficulties resulting from Germany's commitment to European integration are also addressed. Within Europe, German insistence on deeper integration is often seen as evidence of a German wish to dominate Europe, even though the stated aim of Kohl's government is to prevent this from happening. The author believes that Germany's new power is clearly visible, and must be carefully managed if future conflict is to be avoided.

This text provides authoritative coverage and wide-ranging analysis of politics and policy in the Federal Republic - including the implications of the 2002 federal elections - and of its role in the Europe and the wider world.

This work considers the problems of the socialist legacy left by the unification of Germany, as East Germans adjusted to uncertainties in employment, education, family life and immigration.