GV383-6-SP-CO:
German Politics
2019/20
Government
Colchester Campus
Spring
Undergraduate: Level 6
Current
Monday 13 January 2020
Friday 20 March 2020
15
29 May 2019
Requisites for this module
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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
No additional information available.
1x2 hour seminar each week
- Alister Miskimmon. (2012) 'Germany and the Wider World: A New Role in the Twenty-First Century?', in The politics of the new Germany, Abingdon: Routledge., pp.196-216
- Russell J. Dalton. (©1993) 'Changing Political Cultures', in Politics in Germany, New York: HarperCollins College Publishers. vol. The HarperCollins series in comparative politics, pp.107-144
- Simon Green. (2014) 'Citizenship, Migration and Cultural Pluralism', in Developments in German politics 4, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan., pp.262-278
- Wilke, Jurgen. (2008) 'Germany: Media System', in The international encyclopedia of communication, United States: Wiley/Blackwell., pp.1961-1964
- Henry Krisch. (2009) 'Germany Divided and Unified', in Politics in Germany, Washington, DC: CQ Press., pp.38-56
- Alister Miskimmon. (2012) 'A blockaded system of government?', in The politics of the new Germany, Abingdon: Routledge., pp.72-94
- Stephen Padgett. (2014) 'Energy and Climate Protection Policy', in Developments in German politics 4, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan., pp.241-261
- Susan E. Scarrow. (1997) 'Party Competition and Institutional Change: The Expansion of Direct Democracy in Germany', in Party Politics. vol. 3 (4) , pp.451-472
- 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
- Russell J. Dalton. (© 2020) 'Elections and Political Parties', in Citizen politics: public opinion and political parties in advanced industrial democracies, Los Angeles, California: SAGE, CQ Press., pp.133-154
- 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
- Simon Green; Dan Hough; Alister Miskimmon. (2012) The politics of the new Germany, Abingdon: Routledge.
- Christian Stecker; Klaus H. Goetz. (2014) 'Government at the Centre', in Developments in German politics 4, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan., pp.16-34
- Russell J. Dalton. (© 2020) 'Citizens and the Democratic Process', in Citizen politics: public opinion and political parties in advanced industrial democracies, Los Angeles, California: SAGE, CQ Press., pp.255-277
- Margret Hornsteiner; Thomas Saalfeld. (2014) 'Parties and Party System', in Developments in German politics 4, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan., pp.78-102
- Reimut Zohlnhöfer. (2014) 'Economic Policy', in Developments in German politics 4, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan., pp.149-165
- Debus, Marc; Müller, Jochen. (2013) 'Do Voters’ Coalition Preferences Affect Government Formation?', in West European Politics. vol. 36 (5) , pp.1007-1028
- Schmidt, Manfred G. (2003) 'Continuity and Discontinuity in the Federal Republic of Germany', in Political institutions in the Federal Republic of Germany, Oxford: Oxford University Press., pp.201-235
- Alister Miskimmon. (2012) 'Parties and voters: The Path to Fluid Party Politics?', in The politics of the new Germany, Abingdon: Routledge., pp.94-114
- Schmidt, Manfred G. (2003) '“Governing with Judges”: The Judiciary, the Court System, and Judicial Review', in Political institutions in the Federal Republic of Germany, Oxford: Oxford University Press., pp.106-130
- Alister Miskimmon. (2012) 'Citizenship and demographics: (Still) a country of immigration?', in The politics of the new Germany, Abingdon: Routledge., pp.115-135
- Schmidt, Manfred G. (2003) 'Governing a Semi-Sovereign State: Germany’s Executive and its Institutional Context', in Political institutions in the Federal Republic of Germany, Oxford: Oxford University Press., pp.26-73
- Schmitt-Beck, Rüdiger; Partheymüller, Julia. (2012) 'Why Voters Decide Late: A Simultaneous Test of Old and New Hypotheses at the 2005 and 2009 German Federal Elections', in German Politics. vol. 21 (3) , pp.299-316
- D. Hawkins. (2009) 'Case Studies', in The SAGE handbook of comparative politics, Los Angeles: SAGE., pp.50-65
- Russell J. Dalton. (2014) 'Partisan Dealignment and Voting Choice', in Developments in German politics 4, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan., pp.57-77
- Schmidt, Manfred G. (2003) 'From Negative Parliamentary Politics to Democratic Parliamentary Government: The Role of the Legislature', in Political institutions in the Federal Republic of Germany, Oxford: Oxford University Press., pp.74-105
- Dieter Rucht. (2014) 'The Politics of Social Protest', in Developments in German politics 4, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan., pp.118-132
- Russell J. Dalton. (©1993) 'The Institutions of Governance', in Politics in Germany, New York: HarperCollins College Publishers. vol. The HarperCollins series in comparative politics, pp.44-79
- Miranda A. Schreurs. (2016) 'Is Germany Really an Environmental Leader?', in Current History. vol. 115 (779) , pp.114-116
- Alister Miskimmon. (2012) 'Conclusion: Three themes reassessed', in The politics of the new Germany, Abingdon: Routledge., pp.217-223
- Klüver, Heike. (2015) 'Interest Groups in the German Bundestag: Exploring the Issue Linkage between Citizens and Interest Groups', in German Politics. vol. 24 (2) , pp.137-153
- Schmidt, Manfred G. (2003) 'Against “Leviathan” and “Behemoth”: The Anti-Totalitarian Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany', in Political institutions in the Federal Republic of Germany, Oxford: Oxford University Press., pp.9-25
- Krisch, Henry. (c2009) 'Organized Interest Groups and Social Movements', in Politics in Germany, Washington, DC: CQ Press., pp.136-156
- Green, Simon; Hough, Dan; Miskimmon, Alister. (2012) Politics of the new Germany, London: Routledge.
- Roberts, Geoffrey K. (2016) 'Germany and Europe', in German politics today, Manchester: Manchester University Press., pp.189-205
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 |
Weighting |
| Coursework |
Essay 1 |
13/02/2020 |
50% |
| Coursework |
Essay 2 |
12/03/2020 |
50% |
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Svenja Krauss
Svenja Krauss E: svenja.krauss@essex.ac.uk
Administrator: Sallyann West, govquery@essex.ac.uk
Yes
Yes
No
Dr Arzu Kibris
Associate Professor
Available via Moodle
Of 20 hours, 20 (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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