Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 444
•
Trim: 7 x 10
978-1-4422-6056-6 • Hardback • February 2017 • $144.00 • (£111.00)
978-1-4422-6057-3 • Paperback • February 2017 • $49.00 • (£38.00)
978-1-4422-6058-0 • eBook • February 2017 • $46.50 • (£36.00)
Eric Langenbacher is a teaching professor in the Department of Government at Georgetown University. David P. Conradt is professor emeritus of political science at East Carolina University.
List of Tables and Figures
Preface to the Eleventh Edition
Introduction to the Eleventh Edition
Chapter 1: The Historical Setting: Three Reichs
Chapter 2: From Division to Reunification
Chapter 3: The Social and Economic Setting
Chapter 4: Political Culture, Participation, and Civil Liberties
Chapter 5: The Party System and the Representation of Interests
Chapter 6: Elections and Voting Behavior
Chapter 7: Policy-Making Institutions I: Parliament and Executive
Chapter 8: Policy-Making Institutions II: Administration, Semipublic Institutions, and Courts
Chapter 9: Subnational Units: Federalism and Local Government
Chapter10: The Return and Limits of German Power: The Federal Republic’s Foreign and European Policy
Chapter 11: Conclusion: Germany’s Challenging Future
Bibliography
Index
Previous edition praise:
The German Polity succeeds admirably in drawing together a well-balanced view of the present . . . German system.
— American Historical Review
Previous edition praise:
[Written] in well organized, readable fashion for specialists and nonspecialists alike. . . . Anyone interested in German politics and the recent momentous events that have unfolded there over the past few years can read The German Polity with profit.
— German Studies Review
Previous edition praise:
A comprehensive analytical discussion of German politics.
— The Review of Politics
The German Polity has maintained its enviably high standard. What has changed is the perception of Germany. Since the advent of the EU crisis, attention has centered on the role of Germany as the European Union’s ’reluctant hegemon.’ This is an enormously challenging role, but there is no alternative to Germany as the indispensable power in the European Union. Germany’s stability and the character of its chancellor, Angela Merkel, have led for the first time to a potential global role for Germany. Uncertainty about the future intentions of the new US president and suspicion about Vladimir Putin have led many to conclude that Germany and Chancellor Merkel are the best hope to lead in the struggle to maintain a liberal global order. Such a role would impose enormous demands on the German system, and this excellent volume provides the best guide to how Germany might fulfill such a mission.
— William E. Paterson, University of Aston
Eric Langenbacher and David P. Conradt have done it yet again! This carefully researched and well-written volume provides students, lay readers, and experts with an invaluable guide to the history, politics, and society of Germany. The German Polity features compelling, up-to-date analysis of the rise of German power and its far-reaching implications for the Federal Republic and Europe alike.
— David F. Patton, Connecticut College
The eleventh edition masterfully reframes old questions and poses new ones about Germany’s political development, addressing the many challenges posed by complex domestic, European, and global contexts. Students of comparative politics come away with a strong grounding in institutions and actors as well as an understanding of how the German polity is affected by the enduring, but changing, role of the past; the numerous economic, demographic, and foreign policy challenges of the present; and, from outside the country, the expectations for Germany’s role in the future.
— Jennifer Yoder, Colby College
Offers a comprehensive account of current social forces and trends
Provides a detailed overview of German history, emphasizing the unification process
Includes in-depth treatment of political institutions, partisan actors, public policy, and elections
Analyzes German federalism and intergovernmental relations
Explores German foreign and European policy in the context of the series of crises over the last decade
New features
Fully updated with the most current social, political, and economic data
A revised and expanded chapter on German foreign and European policy
Tackles the crises of the last decade—the euro, Crimea/Ukraine, migration, Brexit—and the related rise and limits of German power
Previews the 2017 Bundestag election, the rise of the Alternative for Germany, and the challenges the political system will face in the future