GOVERNANCE IN CONTEMPORARY GERMANY: THE SEMISOVEREIGN STATE REVISITED; ED. BY SIMON GREEN

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, West Germany was considered to be one of the world's most successful economic and political systems. In his seminal 1987 analysis of West Germany's 'semisovereign' system of governance, Peter Katzenstein attributed this success to a combination of a fragmented polity, consensus politics and incremental policy changes. However, unification in 1990 has both changed Germany's institutional configuration and created economic and social challenges on a huge scale. This 2005 volume therefore asks whether semisovereignty still exists in contemporary Germany and, crucially, whether it remains an asset in terms of addressing these challenges. By shadowing and building on the original study, an eminent team of British, German and American scholars analyses institutional changes and the resulting policy developments in key sectors, with Peter Katzenstein himself providing the conclusion. Together, the chapters provide a landmark assessment of the outcomes produced by one of the world's most important countries. Cover......Page 1 Half-title......Page 3 Title......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Contents......Page 7 Figures......Page 9 Tables......Page 10 Contributors......Page 11 Acknowledgments......Page 12 Abbreviations......Page 13 The Semisovereign Model of Governance......Page 15 Unification and the Challenge to Semisovereignty......Page 23 Semisovereignty: From Asset to Liability?......Page 30 Introduction: Can Semisovereignty be Transferred?......Page 35 Variables and Cases......Page 36 Transfer as More than Colonisation, Set-up and Extension......Page 40 Active Labour-Market Policies: From Crutches to Pillars......Page 43 Regional Policy: New Rules for New Money......Page 49 Tax Equalisation: An Expensive Status Quo......Page 53 Conclusion: Semisovereignty in Eastern Germany and Europe......Page 58 3 Political Parties......Page 60 Katzenstein on the Federal Republic's Parties......Page 61 Persistence of the Party State......Page 63 Parties as Veto Players: Lessons from Comparative Politics......Page 67 Basic Properties of the Party System and the Number of Partisan Veto Players......Page 68 Ideological Distance Between Partisan Veto Players......Page 72 The Bundesrat as an Institutional Veto Player, the Party System and ‘Grand Coalition’ Politics......Page 76 Cohesiveness......Page 79 The Changing Electorate: Increasing Uncertainty in the Bargaining Environment......Page 84 Conclusions......Page 90 Introduction: Federalism in Katzenstein's Policy and Politics in West Germany......Page 92 Unification and the Decentralising Society......Page 95 Unification and the Unchanged Federal System......Page 99 Bavaria and the Propagation of Competitive Federalism......Page 101 Changing Practices of Federalism: a New Capacity for Policy Change?......Page 102 Formal Change......Page 103 The Länder as Laboratories of Democracy?......Page 104 The Bundesrat......Page 105 Introduction......Page 108 Parapublic Institutions: Shock-Absorbers in the Political System......Page 109 The Treuhandanstalt......Page 111 The Bundesbank......Page 116 The Bundesanstalt für Arbeit......Page 121 Conclusions: Parapublic Institutions in a Changed Environment......Page 124 Weak State, Incremental Bias: Semisovereignty in Comparative and Historical Context......Page 129 The Context of Contested Beliefs and Policy Change: Catastrophic Equilibrium, Tipping Points and Crisis......Page 130 Agenda Change and the Discourse of Competitiveness......Page 134 Process: Europeanisation and the Erosion of ‘Soft’ Power......Page 140 Process: Reconfigured Relationships, Changing Nodal Points and Problems of Policy Leadership......Page 144 Conclusions: Tipping Points, Contest and Paradoxes......Page 149 7 Industrial Relations: From State Weakness as Strength to State Weakness as Weakness. Welfare Corporatism and the Private Use of the Public Interest......Page 152 Context: The Rise of Welfare Corporatism......Page 155 Agenda: Combating Unemployment......Page 157 Process: Less Encompassing Organisation......Page 163 Process: Even Less Sovereignty......Page 168 From the Kohl Failure to the Schröder Deadlock......Page 170 Now a Strong State?......Page 174 8 Social Policy: Crisis and Transformation......Page 179 Context: the ‘German Model’ and the Challenge of Unification......Page 181 Agenda: the Quest for a New Welfare Consensus......Page 186 Employment Policies......Page 189 Pension Politics......Page 192 Health Care......Page 196 Consequences: Erosion of Self-Governance and New Forms of Intermediation......Page 199 Introduction......Page 204 Context......Page 209 Agenda......Page 212 Process and Institutional Configuration......Page 218 Consequences and Conclusions......Page 222 Introduction......Page 226 Environmental Context......Page 227 Historical Context......Page 230 Agenda......Page 235 Process......Page 241 Node One: the Consensual Party System......Page 242 Node Two: State Structures......Page 244 Node Three: Parapublic Institutions and NGOs......Page 248 Consequences......Page 250 11 Administrative Reform: Is Public Bureaucracy Still an Obstacle?......Page 253 Context......Page 257 Agenda......Page 261 Policy Co-ordination in the Federal Core Executive......Page 264 Privatisation, Reorganisation, Co-operation, Democracy......Page 269 Privatisation......Page 270 Internal Reorganisation......Page 271 Co-operative Administration and Direct Democracy......Page 273 Consequences......Page 274 Context: the Pre-Sovereign Years......Page 275 The Attainment of Semisovereignty......Page 276 Semisovereignty in a Sovereign Germany......Page 277 Agenda......Page 278 The SPD-Green Government......Page 279 The Role of the Federal Economics Ministry......Page 281 External Dimension......Page 283 Post-unity......Page 285 The Internal Dimension......Page 287 Implementation......Page 289 Consequences......Page 290 Two Conceptions of Semisovereignty......Page 292 Beyond Congruence......Page 293 Conclusion......Page 294 13 Conclusion: Semisovereignty in United Germany......Page 297 Intellectual Context......Page 298 Unification and Economic Performance......Page 300 Unification and Politics......Page 303 Federalism, Parapublic Institutions and Political Parties......Page 307 Federalism......Page 308 Parapublic Institutions......Page 309 The Party System......Page 311 High-change Sectors......Page 312 Low-change Sectors......Page 315 Summary......Page 317 Conclusion: Germany in Europe......Page 318 References......Page 321 Index......Page 348 This Work Offers A Survey Of Post-reunification German Politics By Some Of The World's Leading Authorities. Introduction : Semisovereignty Challenged / Simon Green And William E. Paterson -- Institutional Transfer : Can Semisovereignty Be Transferred? The Political Economy Of Eastern Germany / Wade Jacoby -- Political Parties / Thomas Saalfeld -- Federalism : The New Territorialism / Charlie Jeffery -- Shock-absorbers Under Stress : Parapublic Institutions And The Double Challenges Of German Unification And European Integration / Andreas Busch -- Economic Policy Management : Catastrophic Equilibrium, Tipping Points And Crisis Intervention / Kenneth Dyson -- Industrial Relations : From State Weakness As Strength To State Weakness As Weakness : Welfare Corporatism And The Private Use Of The Public Interest / Wolfgang Streeck -- Social Policy : Crisis And Transformation / Roland Czada -- Immigration And Integration Policy : Between Incrementalism And Non-decisions / Simon Green -- Environmental Policy : The Law Of Dimishing Returns? / Charles Lees -- Administrative Reform : Is Public Bureaucracy Still An Obstacle? / Klaus H. Goetz -- European Policy-making : Between Associated Sovereignty And Semisovereignty / William E. Paterson -- Conclusion : Semisovereignty In United Germany / Peter J. Katzenstein. Edited By Simon Green And William E. Paterson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 307-333) And Index.

Much has changed in Germany over the past twenty years. In 1987 Peter Katzenstein produced a seminal analysis of the 'semisovereign' politics of West Germany, providing a compelling account of policy-making in Europe's largest economy. However, unification in 1990 changed Germany's institutional configuration radically, and created economic challenges on a huge scale. By building on the original study, an eminent team of scholars asks whether semisovereignty still exists in contemporary Germany and whether, as Katzenstein originally contended, it remains an asset. (The conclusion is provided by Peter Katzenstein.)

Since Peter Katzenstein's seminal 1987 analysis of the 'semisovereign' politics of West Germany was written, much has changed in Germany. In this volume an eminent team of British, German and American scholars asks whether semisovereignty still exists in contemporary Germany and whether, as Katzenstein originally contended, it remains an asset