Developments In German Politics 4

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.

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

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.

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 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.

The book traces the development of Germany from the Kaiser’s Reich in the 1870s to the reunited democratic state led by Helmut Kohl in the 1990s. The author begins by countering the popular view of Germany before 1914 as irredeemably reactionary, and after assessing Germany’s part in the First World War, he outlines the rise and fall of the Weimar Republic. The 12 years of Hitler’s destructive experiment are presented in a balanced way as part of the overall development of the country. Germany in defeat is then discussed, as is heer rebirth under Four Power occupation. The last chapters explore the two separate German states and the events leading up to the restoration of German unity.

German politics today surveys the German political system, based on up--to--date information covering the period since the 1998 Bundestag election and the new coalition government under Chancellor Schröder. A concise survey of the historical background to the present-day political system, including the steps that led to German reunification in 1990, is followed by analysis of the institutions of political participation (election, parties and interest groups) and the institutions of government (the constitution, the legislature, chancellor government and the federal system). The book concludes by considering the symbiotic relationship between Germany and Europe, and assesses how apt it is to consider Germany to be a ‘normal’ democracy today. The author draws on German as well as English--language sources of data, ensuring that recent changes in the political system are fully explained, and provides coverage of the constitutional as well as the historical and partisan basis of contemporary German politics. Special features include boxes, (which explain topics such as the ‘surplus seats’ which have occurred at recent Bundestag elections), a chronology of events leading to German reunification, and examples of interest groups officially registered with the Bundestag. It will appeal to those studying undergraduate courses on German politics, and provide a valuable resource for those studying comparative European political systems.