Developments in German Politics Also available from Macmillan Patrick Dunleavy, Andrew Gamble and Gillian Peele (eds) DEVELOPMENTS IN BRITISH POLITICS 3 Peter Hall, Jack Hayward and Howard Machin (eds) DEVELOPMENTS IN FRENCH POLITICS Gillian Peele, Christopher Bailey and Bruce Cain (eds) DEVELOPMENTS IN AMERICAN POLITICS Stephen White, Alex Pravda and Zvi Gitelman (eds) DEVELOPMENTS IN SOVIET AND POST-SOVIET POLITICS Forthcoming Patrick Dunleavy ANALYSING BRITISH POLITICS Developments in German Politics Edited by Gordon Smith William E. Paterson Peter H. Merkl Stephen Padgett M MACMILLAN Selection and editorial matter © Gordon Smith, William E. Paterson, Peter H. Merkt and Stephen Padgett 1992 Individual chapters (in order) ©William Paterson and Gordon Smith, Gordon Smith, Russell J. Dalton, Gordon Smith, Roland Sturm, William Paterson, Adrian Hyde-Price, Emil J. Kirchner, Stephen Padgett, Steen Mangen, Eckhard Rehbinder, Barbara Marshall, Eva Kolinsky, Christopher Flockton and Josef Esser, Peter Pulzer, Peter H. Merkt, Hans-Werner Lohneis 1992 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1992 978-0-333-56756-2 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WlP 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published 1992 by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world ISBN 978-0-333-56757-9 ISBN 978-1-349-22193-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-22193-6 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Phototypeset by Intype, London This book is a direct replacement for Developments in West German Politics, edited by Gordon Smith, William E. Paterson and Peter H. Merkt, published 1989 by Macmillan Education Ltd. Contents List of Maps, Figures and Tables XI Preface xiii Notes on the Contributors xiv Glossary of Party Abbreviations and Political Terms xviii Map of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Lander xx Introduction 1 1 German Unity William E. Paterson and Gordon Smith 9 The Shock of Unification 9 The Catalysts 11 Steps in the Process- External 14 Steps in the Process - Internal 23 East Germany: Overcoming a Double Legacy 28 Appendix: The Chronology of German Unification 30 PART ONE: THE POLITICAL AND GOVERNING SYSTEM 2 The Nature of the Unified State Gordon Smith 37 The 'State without a Centre' Revisited 37 A 'Cooperative' Constitution 39 Principles of German Federalism 40 Parliamentary Institutions: Bundestag and Bundesrat 43 The Chancellor: Powers and Constraints 46 Political Leadership 47 Helmut Kohl as Chancellor 50 3 Two German Electorates? Russell J. Dalton 52 From Stability to Electoral Change 53 Models of Electoral Change 55 The Evidence of Realignment 57 The Evidence of Dealignment 69 v vi Contents Comparing Political Beliefs 72 The German Electorate(s) 74 4 The 'New' Party System Gordon Smith 77 Stability versus Change 77 The Party System before Unification 79 Transition to a Democratic System in the GDR 83 The All-German Election of December 1990 87 The Party System in the Lander 90 Party Perspectives and Prospects 94 How New is the Party System? 101 5 Government at the Centre Roland Sturm 103 The Absorption of the GDR 103 Restructuring Government at the Centre? 104 Towards a New Consensus? 107 Policy-making for a Divided Polity 110 Rebuilding Public Administration in the East 112 What Future for the Bundesbank? 114 A New Constitution and a New Centre? 116 Unification - An Interruption of Normality? 118 6 The Changing Territorial Balance Roland Sturm 119 The Changed Federal Situation 119 The New Logic of Political Decision-making 121 The Poor Against the Rich 122 A Disappearing Land-Federation Coalition Nexus 124 Safeguarding Lander Constitutional Rights 126 Fiscal Federalism : Who Pays for Unification? 128 Restructuring German Federalism 131 Tensions in the Federal System 134 PART Two: GERMANY AND THE WoRLD 7 Gulliver Unbound: The Changing Context of Foreign Policy William E. Paterson 137 Geographical Position 138 Historical Constraints 138 The Ambiguity of Interest 140 Power Resources and Constraints 143 Foreign and Security Policy after Unity 144 The Limits of Independence 145 Collapse and Change in the Soviet Union 146 Contents vii Eastern Europe and the Rediscovery of 'Mitteleuropa' 148 The Balkans Imbroglio 150 Germany and Global Political Challenges 151 8 Uncertainties of Security Policy Adrian Hyde-Price 153 Germany's New Role 153 The Determinants of Security Policy 155 A Changing Security Agenda 157 German Security Policy beyond the Cold War 159 NATO: The Bedrock of German Security 161 A European Defence Identity? 165 The CSCE and Cooperative Security in Europe 168 An 'Out-of-area' Role for the Bundeswehr? 169 Towards a New Domestic Consensus? 171 9 The European Community: Seeds of Ambivalence Emil J. Kirchner 172 Tensions in German-EC Relations 172 German Unification: Challenges for the Community 173 The Impact of Unification on the Working of the Community 175 Unification and European EMU 176 Unification and a Common Foreign and Security Policy 179 German Dominance or Interdependence? 182 PART THREE: ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL POLICY 10 The New German Economy Stephen Padgett 187 Problems of the 'Split Economy' 187 Models of the New German Economy 188 German EMU 190 Collapse of the Economy in the East 193 Economic Renewal and Transformation 195 The Performance of the All-German Economy 198 Policy Dilemmas 200 The Role of the Bundesbank 205 Take-off or Retrenchment? 206 11 Social Policy: One State, Two-tier Welfare Steen Mangen 208 The Welfare System: East and West 208 Social Policy and the Unification Process 210 Financing Social Security 214 Financing Social Services 215 viii Contents Integrating Health Care 218 'Pflegenotstand': The Crisis of Care 221 The Future of Pensions 222 The 'Two-thirds' Society 225 12 Rethinking Environmental Policy Eckhard Rehbinder 221 West German Environmental Policy before Unification 227 Environmental Issues in the Unification Process 229 East German Environmental Problems and their Causes 232 A Restoration Policy for the East 234 Prospects for Achieving the Goals 237 The Future of Environmental Policy 240 PART FouR: CuRRENT IssuEs 13 German Migration Policies Barbara Marshall 247 Dimensions of the 'Migration Problem' 247 The Legal Framework: 'Not a Country of Immigration' 250 Different Principles: Asylum Seekers and Ethnic Germans 252 Economic and Social Aspects 257 Searching for Solutions 260 An Answer at the European Level? 261 German Attitudes and Public Opinion 262 14 Women in the New Germany: The East-West Divide Eva Kolinsky 264 Two Models: West and East Germany 264 Equality: An Unmet Promise in the West 265 Women in the East before Unification 267 Equal Opportunities of Motherhood? 272 Unification and its Impact on Women 274 The Abortion Law Controversy 277 15 Labour Market Problems and Labour Market Policy Christopher Flockton and Josef Esser 281 A Dual Economy 281 The Labour Market Situation in Eastern Germany 286 Labour Market Policy 288 Structural Policy 290 Wage Harmonisation, Differentiation and Subsidisation 291 Job Creation, Retraining and Redeployment 295 The Policy Conundrum 300 Contents ix PART FIVE: IDEOLOGY AND IDENTITY 16 Political Ideology Peter Pulzer 303 The Revival of Ideological Conflict 303 The Quality of Political Life 305 The Demand for Democratisation 307 Doubt and Disillusionment 310 The Environment, Terror and Peace 311 The GDR: An Ideological Graveyard 315 Conservative Counter-attacks in the West 317 National Identity and National Unification 319 Sober Rationality and Pragmatic Reflection 323 An Ideological Vacuum 324 17 A New German Identity Peter H. Merkt 327 Ambivalence and Escapism 327 The Dying of a Faith 330 Divided Support for German Unification 332 Identification with the Nation 334 German Memories of the Past 336 The Third Reich Generation 340 Whither German Youth? 343 Germans View the Future 344 Appendix: The Legal Context of Unification Hans-Werner Lohneis 349 Unification in the Post-1945 Era 349 Unification and the Basic Law: Articles 23 and 146 350 Amendments to the GDR Constitution 351 The First State Treaty: Monetary, Economic and Social Union 353 The 'Two-plus-four' Treaty: The Substitute Peace Treaty 355 The Unification Treaty 356 Changes to the Basic Law 357 Guide to Further Reading 359 Bibliography 365 Index 383