Policy And Politics In West Germany

How can we account for the lack of large-scale policy change in West Germany despite changes in the partisan make-up of the federal government? This formulation of "the German Question" differs from the one commonly posed by students of German politics, a version usually focused on Germany's tragic confrontation with modernity and a possible revival of militarism and authoritarianism. Katzenstein here uncovers the political structures that make incremental policy change such a plausible political check against the growing force of government. This book examines in detail how West German policy and politics interrelate in six problem areas: economic management, industrial relations, social welfare, migrant workers, administrative reform, and university reform. Throughout these six case studies, Katzenstein suggests that West Germany's semi-sovereign state provides the answer to the German Question as it precludes the possibility of central authority. Coalition governments, federalism, para-public institutions, and the state bureaucracy are the domestic forces that have tamed power in the Federal Republic. Author note:Peter J. Katzensteinis Professor of Government at Cornell University, as well as a former editor of International Organization.

The Federal Republic of Germany’s position in the European Community had been described as one of interdependence, penetration and integration. Of the three terms this research addresses itself most directly to penetration: to the links between the German political system and policy-making at the Community level. These links operated in two directions. Thus membership for the European Community (EC) imposed certain constraints on German domestic policy-making. Although this research, first published in 1986, concentrates on the structural inter-relationship between the German political system and EC decisions, its main focus of attention is the articulation of German ‘interests’ in the EC policy process. This book will be of interest to students of politics and history.

This volume of essays by German and American historians discusses key issues of US policy toward Germany in the decade following World War II.

This book, originally published in 1981, provides the student and general reader alike with a fascinating account of the dynamic re-emergence of Germany after the Second World War as one of the world's leading and most powerful states. The book gives extensive coverage to all aspects of the former West Germany's political, social and economic arrangements. As well as dealing with the Basic Law, political parties, Bundestag and government, it also discusses neglected subjects, such as education, the armed forces, welfare services, the role of women, the economy and industrial relations and the mass media.

Through an examination of election campaign propaganda and various public relations campaigns, reflecting new electioneering techniques borrowed from the United States, this work explores how conservative political and economic groups sought to construct and sell a political meaning of the Social Market Economy and the Economic Miracle in West Germany during the 1950s.The political meaning of economics contributed to conservative electoral success, constructed a new belief in the free market economy within West German society, and provided legitimacy and political stability for the new Federal Republic of Germany.