Germany after the Grand Coalition Governance and Politics in a Turbulent Environment

by Bolgherini, Silvia; Grotz, Florian

• ISBN13: 9780230622852
• ISBN10: 0230622852
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-12-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

The volume analyses key political themes and debates in German politics, with a particular focus on the dynamics of the forthcoming federal elections and the transformations emerging out of them.

Author Biography

Silvia Bolgherini is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Naples Federico II. She has published on electoral studies, European studies and local government. Her latest books include: Come le regioni diventano europee. Stili di governo e sfide comunitarie nell’Europa mediterranea (How regions become European, Comparative Politics, 2006), La politica comparata. Strategie e ricerche (Comparative Politics, 2008; co-authored with M. Caciagli) and Unioni di Comuni (Inter-municipal Cooperation, 2009; co-authored with G. Baldini et al.).

Florian Grotz is Visiting Professor for Political Science at Leuphana University Lüneburg (Germany). Before, he worked at the Universities of Heidelberg, Berlin and Würzburg. He writes on German government and politics, political institutions in Europe and comparative electoral systems. His most recent book is Demokratische Regierungssysteme in Mittel- und Osteuropa (Democracies in Central and Eastern Europe), which he co-edited with Ferdinand Müller-Rommel.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Grand Coalition 2005-2009—a Single Episode or a Turning Point?--Silvia Bolgherini and Florian Grotz * Part I: The Legacies of the Grand Coalition * New Possibilities or Permanent Gridlock? The Policies and Politics of the Grand Coalition--Reimut Zohlnhöfer * Towards a New German Federalism? How the 2006 Constitutional Reform did (not) change the Dynamics of the Federal System--Julia von Blumenthal * Multi-level Party Politics during the Grand Coalition: Electoral Outcomes at Länder Level--Silvia Bolgherini and Florian Grotz * Still the Driving Force of European Integration? The EU Policy Pursued by the Grand Coalition--Gisela Müller-Brandeck-Bocquet * Part II: The Federal Elections of September 27, 2009 * A Post-Modern Campaign? The Sleepy Run-up to the 2009 Federal Election--Giorgia Bulli * The Choice for Stability: The Results of the 2009 Federal Election--Mario Caciagli * An Electorate on the Move: Explaining Vote Choice in the 2009 Federal Election--Bernhard Weßels * Part III: The New Government and the Challenges Ahead * Coalition-building in Germany 2009: Simulating Real Politics, Preparing Merkel III?--Suzanne S. Schüttemeyer * A Fresh Start or More of the Same? The Domestic Policy Agenda of the Center-Right Coalition--Roland Sturm * The ‘Grand Coalition State’ between Past and Present. Continuities and Discontinuities of a Changing Political System--Gabriele D’Ottavio * Conclusion: The Long Shadow of the Grand Coalition--Florian Grotz and Silvia Bolgherini