Learning Democracy Democratic and Economic Values in Unified Germany

by Rohrschneider, Robert

• ISBN13: 9780198295174
• ISBN10: 0198295170
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-07-29
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The fall of the Berlin wall raised many questions about Germany and post-socialist countries. Given East Germany's authoritarian history, how democratic are its citizens now? What kind of democracy do they want a liberal or socialist democracy? What economic system do they prefer? How havethey reacted to democratic and market systems since 1989? The book shows how individual institutional learning may be offset by the diffusion of democratic values. The author uses public opinion surveys to compare attitudes of MPs and the general public, and in-depth interviews with parliamentarians in east, and west Berlin to show the persistence ofsocialist views in the east as well as lower levels of political tolerance. Moreover, the book argues, these values have changed fairly littlesince unification. The author presents evidence and develops implications for other post-socialist nations, arguing that while post-socialist citizens do not yearn for the old socialist order, their socialist values frequently lower enthusiasm for new democratic and market institutions. The implications being thatideological values are primarily shaped by individual exposure to institutions and that democratic and market values are diffused only in specific conditions. More than just an analysis of German political culture, the book offers conpelling conclusions about the future of democracy in allpost-socialist states. Robert Rohrschneider won the Stein Rokkan Prize for best book in comparative politics by a young scholar awarded by the International Social Science Committee of UNESCO.

Author Biography

Robert Rohrschneider is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Indiana University.

Table of Contents

List of Tables	xi	(2)
List of Figures	xiii	(2)
Glossary of Party Names	xv
1. Introduction	1	(7)
2. Charting the Inquiry	8	(25)
3. Institutional Learning in Germany	33	(19)
4. Research Design	52	(11)
5. Democratic Ideals	63	(44)
6. Political Tolerance	107	(31)
7. Pluralism	138	(22)
8. Economic Values	160	(40)
9. The Sources of Institutional Support	200	(31)
10. Conclusion	231	(18)
Appendix A Measuring Concepts	249	(14)
Appendix B Multivariate Analyses	263	(8)
Appendix C Questionnaire	271	(10)
Notes	281	(12)
References	293	(12)
Index	305