The Party State and Democracy in Germany

This is a comprehensive analysis of the Federal Republic's party state, its origins and development, its strengths and potential weaknesses. With the merger of East and West Germany, the strains on the political systems have led to concerns about whether the new "Berlin Republic" will be able to match the stability and success of the "Bonn Republic". There are ominous signs of eroding popular support for principal parties, trends that have actually increased since unification, and there are massive criticisms of the Federal Republic's political and party systems. Some think there may be a revival of Germany anti-party culture, and because of its negative effects on democratic government in the past, some fear the Berlin Republic might meet the fate of Weimar. Since unification, this "rhetoric of crisis" has been used in the debate about the party state. Michaela Richter looks at the origins and foundations of the democratic party state, allied occupation, the anti-party front, and the constitutional legitimization of the party state, and concludes that the Federal Republic's principal parties have created and maintained a constitutional consensus and commitment to a democratic syst