Germany After the 2013 Elections: Breaking the Mould of Post-Unification Politics?

by Gabriele D'Ottavio, Thomas Saalfeld

Overview

The German election of 2013 has important ramifications for the whole of Europe. Germany After the 2013 Elections: Breaking the Mould of Post-Unification Politics? provides a comprehensive analysis of this election and its wider implications for post-unification German politics. International specialists on German and EU politics examine the domestic and international context of the election and reflect on its possible consequences. In the first part of the volume, a number of contributors analyse the policy environment in which the election took place while the second part deals with voters, parties and leaders’ strategies in the run-up to, and the aftermath, of the 2013 election.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472444394
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/08/2015
Edition description:	1
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Gabriele D’Ottavio is Research Fellow at the Italian-German Historical Institute-FBK in Trento and teaches International and European History at the University of Trento. His research focuses on the history of European integration as well as on the history of Germany after 1945. Thomas Saalfeld is Professor of Political Science at the University of Bamberg and elected Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences. His main areas of research are legislative studies, political representation, coalition politics and political parties both in Germany and in a comparative European perspective. He is the managing editor of German Politics, the leading academic journal in this field in the English-speaking world.

Table of Contents

Introduction Breaking the Mould of Post-Unification German Politics?, GabrieleD’Ottavio, ThomasSaalfeld; Part I Policy Environment; Chapter 1 A Coalition Whose Time Had Already Passed …The Economic and Social Policies of the Second Merkel Government, ReimutZohlnhöfer; Chapter 2 A New German Question? Germany and European Integration in Historical Perspective, GabrieleD’Ottavio; Chapter 3 Germany, the Euro Crisis, and Risk Management, KennethDyson; Chapter 4 Germany’s Foreign Policy, AlisterMiskimmon, LuukMolthof; Part II The 2013 Election; Chapter 5 Chancellor Merkel, the European Debt Crisis and the AfD, MatthiasMader, HaraldSchoen; Chapter 6 Party Manifestos in Representative Democracy, MargretHornsteiner; Chapter 7 Programmatic Change in the Two Main Part Ies, UweJun, SimonJakobs; Chapter 8 The Failed Struggle for Office Instead of Votes, Simon T.Franzmann; Chapter 9 So Similar, Yet So Different, GianfrancoBaldini, SilviaBolgherini; Chapter 10 Coalition Formation and Coalition Governance after the Election of 2013, ThomasSaalfeld;

Editorial Reviews

’The watershed 2013 German election resulted in record numbers of voters supporting parties failing to enter the Bundestag. This forward-looking collection by scholars from across Europe not only depicts the election’s context and analyzes voters’ choices, it also ponders the Christian and Social Democrats’ future coalition possibilities and assesses the prospects of small parties including the anti-Euro AfD, the Pirates, Greens, Left Party, and FDP. A must-read for all - academics and non-academics alike - interested in the future direction of German party politics.’ Louise K. Davidson-Schmich, University of Miami, USA ’Given Germany’s hegemonic status in Europe it is fitting that such a strong cross-European cast of scholars should offer us this benchmark analysis of the 2013 German Federal election, its background and consequences. This volume is highly recommended for anyone interested in elections, party systems, and party government in Europe’s most significant polity.’ Charles Lees, University of Bath, UK

From the Publisher