Germany after the Grand Coalition: Governance and Politics in a Turbulent Environment (Europe in Transition: The NYU European Studies Series)

In Germany, Grand Coalitions of the two major parties - the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD) - generally have a bad reputation. Hence, the CDU/CSU-SPD government under Angela Merkel (2005-2009) was neither the parties' nor the citizens' preferred choice, its performance was seen quite critical from the outset, and it was finished without further ado after the 2009 federal election. Has the Grand Coalition 2005-2009 been a single episode or rather a turning point for German politics? This book provides a retrospective of the first Merkel government, an analysis of the 2009 election and an account of its prospective consequences. "This is an excellent collection of first-rate scholarly analyses of German politics and major domestic and EU government policies before and especially during the Grand Coalition of 2005-2009 and the chancellorship of Angela Merkel. It also covers the issues and results of the 2009 election and offers some preliminary and trenchant assessments of the new CDU/CSU-FDP coalition and the challenges faced by this surprisingly contentious combination of political "allies." Wide-ranging but thorough and informative contributions to the literature on German politics from 2005 to 2010." - Arthur B. Gunlicks, Professor of Political Science, Emeritus, University of Richmond, VA "If you want to find out all the ins and outs, advantages and disadvantages, peculiarities and generalities, genealogies and legacies of Germany's most recent GRAND COALITION, this is your book! In an array of insightful and informative essays, the erudite authors succeed to enlighten us about this odd, yet also quite normal, system of governance. I recommend this book to scholars of Germany, Europe and comparative politics as a whole." - Andrei S. Markovits, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and Karl W. Deutsch Collegiate Professor of Comparative Politics and German Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor "The book gives an in-depth and authoritative assessment of the legacies of the second Grand Coalition experiment in Germany, the campaign and outcome of the federal election of 2009, and the challenges of the Christian Democratic-Liberal coalition in office since 2009. Germany after the Grand Coalition is an essential reading for everyone interested in the political mechanisms which drive present day's politics and policy in Germany." - Manfred G. Schmidt, Professor in Political Science at the University of Heidelberg Front Matter....Pages i-xvii Introduction....Pages 1-11 Front Matter....Pages 13-13 New Possibilities or Permanent Gridlock?....Pages 15-30 Toward a New German Federalism?....Pages 31-48 Multilevel Party Politics during the Grand Coalition....Pages 49-68 Still the Driving Force of European Integration?....Pages 69-86 Front Matter....Pages 87-87 A Post-Modern Campaign?....Pages 89-106 The Choice for Stability....Pages 107-124 An Electorate on the Move....Pages 125-143 Front Matter....Pages 145-145 Coalition-Building in Germany 2009....Pages 147-163 A Fresh Start or More of the Same?....Pages 165-178 The “Grand Coalition State” between Past and Present....Pages 179-194 Conclusion....Pages 195-206 Back Matter....Pages 207-231