GV383-6-FY-CO:
German Politics
2023/24
Government
Colchester Campus
Full Year
Undergraduate: Level 6
ReassessmentOnly
Thursday 05 October 2023
Friday 28 June 2024
30
07 March 2022
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
The aim of this module is to provide a profound understanding of contemporary German politics. For this purpose, the course will give a brief overview over Germany’s post-war political development. We will examine, in particular, the role of political culture and political institutions as determinants of successful democratization.
The course sheds light on general trends and developments that Germany shares with other countries, such as the increasing fluidity of electoral preferences, the fragmentation of the party system, and the increasing use of referenda. At the same time, the course outlines and discusses some of the more distinct features of the German case, such as its mixed-member proportional electoral system, patterns of coalition formation, and the role of the second chamber and the Constitutional Court as veto-players. Apart from that, the course highlights critical policy issues and current challenges including Germany’s role in the European Union as well as economic, environmental, and immigration policies.
To provide students with a thorough knowledge and understanding of German Politics
At the end of this module, students should understand:
• contemporary German politics
• Germany’s political culture and institutions
• the importance of specific policies in Germany
• the current challenges the country is facing
Changes to content structure:
Week 18: Political Parties and Elections
Week 19: Interest Groups and Lobbying
Week 20: Economic Policy
Week 21: Social Policy and the Welfare State
Week 22: Demographic Change and Immigration Policy
Week 23: Foreign Policy
Week 24: Energy, Climate and Environmental Policy
Week 25: Final Discussion: Continuity and Change in Germany
1x2 hour seminar each week
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Simon Green, Dan Hough and Alister Miskimmon (2012)
The politics of the new Germany. 2nd ed. Abingdon: Routledge. Available at:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=957265.
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Stephen Padgett, William E. Paterson and Reimut Zohlnhöfer (eds) (2014)
Developments in German politics 4. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Available at:
https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/44294.
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Larres, K., Moroff, H. and Wittlinger, R. (eds) (2022)
The Oxford Handbook of German Politics. Oxford University Press. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198817307.001.0001.
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‘German Politics’ (no date). Available at:
https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/fgrp20.
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N. Koenig (no date) ‘The Zeitenwende: Germany’s Reluctant Revolution.’ Available at:
https://www.aicgs.org/publication/the-zeitenwende-germanys-reluctant-revolution/.
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Lemke, C. and Welsh, H.A. (2018b)
Germany today: politics and policies in a changing world. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Available at:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?pq-origsite=primo&docID=5122196.
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Green, S.
et al. (2012a)
The politics of the new Germany. 2nd ed. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Available at:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=957265.
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Russell J. Dalton (no date) ‘Changing Political Cultures’, in
Politics in Germany. 2nd ed. New York: HarperCollins College Publishers, pp. 107–144. Available at:
http://www.socsci.uci.edu/~rdalton/germany/ch4/chap4.htm.
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Dalton, R.J. (2019a)
Citizen politics: public opinion and political parties in advanced industrial democracies. Seventh Edition. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, CQ Press. Available at:
https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/650748.
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Dalton, R.J. (2019b)
Citizen politics: public opinion and political parties in advanced industrial democracies. Seventh Edition. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, CQ Press. Available at:
https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/650748.
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Zittel, T. (2018) ‘Electoral Systems in Context: Germany’, in E.S. Herron, R.J. Pekkanen, and M.S. Shugart (eds)
The Oxford Handbook of Electoral Systems. Oxford University Press, pp. 780–802. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190258658.013.37.
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Padgett, S., Paterson, W.E. and Zohlnhöfer, R. (eds) (2014)
Developments in German politics 4. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Available at:
https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/44294.
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Christian Stecker and Klaus H. Goetz (2014) ‘Government at the Centre’, in Stephen Padgett, William E. Paterson, and Reimut Zohlnhöfer (eds)
Developments in German politics 4. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 16–34. Available at:
https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/44294.
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Hebestreit, R. and Korte, K.-R. (2022) ‘The Executive’, in K. Larres, H. Moroff, and R. Wittlinger (eds)
The Oxford Handbook of German Politics. Oxford University Press, pp. 139–160. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198817307.013.10.
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Schüttemeyer, S.S. and Siefken, S.T. (2022) ‘The German Bundestag’, in K. Larres, H. Moroff, and R. Wittlinger (eds)
The Oxford Handbook of German Politics. Oxford University Press, pp. 161–178. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198817307.013.11.
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Benz, A. (2022) ‘The Federal System and the Länder’, in K. Larres, H. Moroff, and R. Wittlinger (eds)
The Oxford Handbook of German Politics. Oxford University Press, pp. 179–195. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198817307.001.0001.
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Georg Vanberg (2005) ‘The Federal Constitutional Court in Comparative Perspective’, in
The politics of constitutional review in Germany. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 61–94. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511510427.004.
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Miller, R.A. (2022) ‘The German Legal System and Courts’, in K. Larres, H. Moroff, and R. Wittlinger (eds)
The Oxford Handbook of German Politics. Oxford University Press, pp. 196–C12.P96. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198817307.013.13.
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Wilke, J. (2008) ‘Germany: Media System’, in W. Donsbach and International Communication Association (eds) The international encyclopedia of communication. United States: Wiley/Blackwell, pp. 1961–1964.
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Max Kaase (2000) ‘Germany: A Society and a Media System in Transition’, in
Democracy and the media: a comparative perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 375–401. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139175289.011.
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Green, S.
et al. (2012d)
The politics of the new Germany. 2nd ed. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Available at:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=957265.
The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's
reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Yes
Yes
No
Dr Edward Morgan-Jones
University of Kent
Reader in Comparative Politics
Available via Moodle
Of 40 hours, 40 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).
Government
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