German Politics Today

by Roberts, Geoffrey K.

• ISBN13: 9780719049613
• ISBN10: 071904961X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-09-02
• Publisher: Manchester Univ Pr

Summary

German Politics Todaysurveys 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 Schrouml;der. 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 and the institutions of government. 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.

Author Biography

Geoffrey K. Roberts is Reader in German Politics at the University of Manchester.

Table of Contents

List of tables and boxes	vi
Preface	vii
A note on style	xi
Abbreviations	xiii
Glossary	xv
The creation of present-day Germany	1	(22)
The context of politics in reunified Germany	23	(12)
The development of the political system of the Federal Republic	35	(15)
The electoral system and electoral politics	50	(26)
The party-state	76	(21)
The federal structure	97	(15)
Chancellor democracy	112	(19)
Parliamentary politics	131	(21)
Interest-group politics	152	(15)
Germany and Europe	167	(14)
Germany: a `normal' democracy?	181	(19)
Appendix 1: Court cases	200	(8)
Appendix 2: Economic, social and political profiles of the Lander	208	(7)
Index	215