Description
This edited volume, which brings together the leading experts in German politics from around the US and Germany, combines rich descriptive data with insightful analyses regarding one of the most dramatic and important election years in postwar Germany. A variety of more specialized issues and perspectives is addressed, including the transatlantic relationship, EU policy, voting behavior and far Right parties. This book will be essential reading for students of German, European and comparative politics.
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In the view of Langenbacher (government, Georgetown U.), German political life in 2005 witnessed some of the most dramatic events since unification, what with the coming to power of Angela Merkel's grand coalition uniting the Social Democratic Party and her own Christian Democratic Union in the Bundestag, as well as dramatic events in the rest of German party politics. He presents nine chapters reviewing some of these developments and their likely impact, including the behind the scenes party maneuvering of Angela Merkel, the interplay of long-term trends and short-term factors in the election outcomes, the political mobilization and electoral failures of the extreme right, the influence of interest groups on Chancellor Merkel's European Union policy, the surprising success of the successor party of the East German Communists, and the influence of the change of government on transatlantic relations. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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