The Legacy and Impact of German Unification: The Elusive Dream of 'Flourishing Landscapes' (New Perspectives in German Political Studies)

On October 3, 1990 the future of both Europe and Germany became powerfully and inexorably intertwined across a politically broadened continent powering transformative social, political and economic interactions. The thirty year mark after the then reigning chancellor Helmut Kohl promised 'flourishing landscapes' in the former GDR is more than just a new anniversary from which mandatory reflections must follow. Arguably, it represents a temporal boundary between the adjustments and reactions conditioned and captivated by a sense of something new and uncertain, and that point moving forward from which unifications legacy inescapably tethers Germanys future to normal politics shaped by the issues of the moment, and not politics gripped by the debates of unification itself. That legacy is defined by an accumulation over thirty years of adjustments, mutations, counter-adjustments and strategic reactions which have now delivered through the many ripples of change a Germany managing the course-trajectory which unification has relentlessly plotted. The foreseeable future will certainly see that legacy of unification tenaciously continue to project yet shrouded within the background of Germanys routine politics. This volume explores that legacy within the post-unification era and reflects on the way forward into a near-term German future no longer consumed with unification itself but with the reality of politics it has steadily defined. Michael Oswald is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Passau, Germany, Research Associate at the John F. Kennedy Institute, Free University of Berlin, Germany, Faculty at the Institute of European and International Studies (CIFE), France, and the author of The Palgrave Handbook of Populism (2021). John Robertson is Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M University, USA. He is the author and co-author of numerous articles dealing with European affairs and comparative politics published in leading political science journals, including the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Comparative Politics, German Politics, International Political Science Review, and International Studies Quarterly Dedication Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures List of Tables 1 Three Decades of “Flourishing Landscapes”: An Introduction to German Unification and the Challenge of Managing Its Legacy into the Next Decade Introduction Unification in Comparative Perspective From Divided to United Germany: Germany’s “Crowded Hour” Comparative Assessments of East and West and the Grist of Politics Revealed: Mind the Gaps Comparative Aggregate East–West Differences in Wealth, Social Dynamics, and Opportunity East–West Comparisons Within the European Context A Comparative Survey of the 2017 and 2021 Elections in Germany: The Political Patterns of Division and Gaps The Bundestag Elections of 2017 and 2021: Comparing East and West Institutionalizing Support: Comparing How Well the AfD Met Expectations in 2017 and 2021 Structural Development and Comparative Vote Patterns for the AfD: Do Gaps Matter? A Comparative Survey of the Social and Cultural Divide Context Basic Attitude and Belief Patterns Across East and West Cohesion: National Pride and Identity Differing Perceptions Regarding Advantages and Disadvantages of Unification, and Life’s’ Fairness’ Differing Dispositions Toward Refugees and Foreigners Differing Profiles on Postmaterialism, Social Anomia, and Populism Controls for Sex, Education, Generation, and Populism Gender Gaps Differences Across Education Generation Gaps Populism Gender, Family, Marriage, and Work Conclusion: Gambit and Stakes in Germany’s Continuing Legacy of Unification Shaping Normal Politics The Chapters That Follow Literature 2 Continuity and Change in the Office of German Chancellor Introduction Institutional Stability Areas of Change Gaining and Losing Office The International Role of the Chancellor Personalization and Presidentialization Conclusion Literature 3 The German Party System Since 1990: From Incorporation to Fragmentation, Polarization and Weaker Ties Introduction Framework for Analysis: The Decline of Linkage Basic Trends Citizens Withdrawing from Parties Party Elites Withdrawing from Civil Society Party Finance and Traces of Cartel Parties The Ambivalence of Digitalization Conclusion Literature 4 The Resurgence and Decline of the Social Democratic Party in the Berlin Republic (1990–2020) Introduction The Rise and Decline of the SPD in the Bonn Republic The Resurgence of the SPD in the Berlin Republic The Decline of the SPD in the Berlin Republic Explaining Success and Misery of Social Democrats in Germany and Beyond Prospects for 2021 and Beyond Postscript After the Bundestag Election Literature 5 Fighting Against the Decline: Concepts of Modernization of the Conservative “Volksparteien” in Germany Introduction The Rise and Decline of the German “Volksparteien” Political Parties as a Complex Web of Relations Conditions of Modernization of Political Parties Concepts of Modernization of the Conservative “Volksparteien” in Germany Conclusion Literature 6 Post-Communism in a United Germany: Die Linke Introduction Freedom and Unity Revolution 1989/1990 Cutting off the PDS and the Party Die Linke in Federal Elections Reasons for the Establishment of the Party Die Linke Conclusion Literature 7 Alliance 90/The Greens: A Left Party with a Centrist Appeal in Coalition Politics Introduction Electoral Results Programmatic Evolution Organizational Evolution Coalition Strategy Conclusion Literature 8 The Right-Wing Populist Disruption in the Berlin Republic. Opportunity Structures and Success of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) The Old Assumption: Germany as Exception in Europe Disruption: The Rise of the AfD Why the Establishment of a Right-Wing Populist Party is (not) Astonishing? The Grounds for Disruption: Germany’s Two Populist Moments in the Berlin Republic: Sarrazin Debate and Refugee Crisis Not a New League East, but a New Advocate of “Second-Class-Citizen” The AfD Addressed to the Feeling to Be Second-Class-Citizen Limits to Disruption Literature 9 The Reluctant Modernizer: Gender Equality in Unified Germany Introduction The 1990s: Unifying Two Gendered States The New Millennium: Investment in Women’s Human Capital Dual-Track Gender Policy: Parity and Equality Conclusion: Gender Equality in the Post-Merkel Era Literature 10 The Götterdämmerung of the Nation Brand: German Identity After 30 years of Unification Introduction: Why Germany Is a Brand? The Constitution of the Brand: Trust Overview: The Subjective German Brand Image Trust and Democracy Historical Consciousness and Anti-semitism German Unification and European Integration Three Decades Later Foreign Policy: The Anti-War Brand Germany Emotions, Politics and the German Brand Conclusion Literature 11 “Germany Is a Disaster Now”: US Perspectives on the Berlin Republic Over the Course of Time Introduction The Berlin Republic from the Perspective of US Presidents George H.W. Bush (1989–1993) Bill Clinton (1993–2001) George W. Bush (2001–2009) Barack Obama (2009–2017) Donald Trump (2017–2021) Discussion and Outlook Literature 12 The Changing Faces of Germany’s Social Market Economy Ordo-Liberal Beginnings The Road to State Intervention Half-Hearted Supply-Side Policies German Unification—The Economy Becomes Politics Social Market Eclecticism and Globalization The Financial Crisis and Its Aftermath The Coronavirus Rewrote the Social Market Economy Conclusion: The Social Market economy—A Flexible Concept Literature 13 European Divergences: Germany, France, and Italy in Global Economic Governance Introduction Theoretical Framework: The Societal Approach EU Member States’ Preference Formation in the G20 The Role of Ideas in Public Debt and Economic Stimulus The Role of Interests in Global Trade Imbalances Conclusion Literature 14 France, Germany, and European Security: “Building Castles in the Sky”? Great Ideas, Modest Reality, Open Questions Europe’s Role in World Politics: Diverging Concepts in France and Germany Further Bumps on the Road to a New International Role for the EU Building “Castles in the Sky”: France, Germany, and European Union’s Search for International Actor Identity Literature 15 Frozen in Trump’s Headlights—Germany’s Astounding Foreign Policy of Obstinacy Introduction Understanding Friendship in International Politics—Brief Theoretical and Methodological Overview German-US Transatlantic Friendship Before and After Unification Two Cases of German-US Friendship Under Trump Condemning Human Rights Abuses in China Reducing US Troops in Germany Conclusion Literature Index