Party Politics in the New Germany

Much has been written about political upheavals and instability in Germany since reunification, but there has been little attempt at empirical analysis of the political parties and movements before, during and since reunification. Geoffrey Roberts provides a detailed analysis of party politics in post-unification Germany. Assessment is made not only of the changes in the German party system resulting from unification, but also of the role played by the parties themselves in the unification process. The analysis is placed within historical context and backed up with empirical data on the parties themselves. Finally, consideration is given to the challenges and opportunities for the parties within the context of increasing political and economic crisis in Germany, and the local, Laender, Bundestag and European Parliament elections of 1994.