Germany After the 2013 Elections

Gabriele D’Ottavio is Research Fellow at the Italian-German Historical Institute-FBK in Trento and teaches International and European History at the University of Trento. His research focuses on the history of European integration as well as on the history of Germany after 1945. Thomas Saalfeld is Professor of Political Science at the University of Bamberg and elected Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences. His main areas of research are legislative studies, political representation, coalition politics and political parties both in Germany and in a comparative European perspective. He is the managing editor of German Politics, the leading academic journal in this field in the English-speaking world.

’The watershed 2013 German election resulted in record numbers of voters supporting parties failing to enter the Bundestag. This forward-looking collection by scholars from across Europe not only depicts the election’s context and analyzes voters’ choices, it also ponders the Christian and Social Democrats’ future coalition possibilities and assesses the prospects of small parties including the anti-Euro AfD, the Pirates, Greens, Left Party, and FDP. A must-read for all - academics and non-academics alike - interested in the future direction of German party politics.’ Louise K. Davidson-Schmich, University of Miami, USA ’Given Germany’s hegemonic status in Europe it is fitting that such a strong cross-European cast of scholars should offer us this benchmark analysis of the 2013 German Federal election, its background and consequences. This volume is highly recommended for anyone interested in elections, party systems, and party government in Europe’s most significant polity.’ Charles Lees, University of Bath, UK

• Introduction Breaking the Mould of Post-Unification German Politics?, GabrieleD’Ottavio, ThomasSaalfeld; Part I Policy Environment; Chapter 1 A Coalition Whose Time Had Already Passed …The Economic and Social Policies of the Second Merkel Government, ReimutZohlnhöfer; Chapter 2 A New German Question? Germany and European Integration in Historical Perspective, GabrieleD’Ottavio; Chapter 3 Germany, the Euro Crisis, and Risk Management, KennethDyson; Chapter 4 Germany’s Foreign Policy, AlisterMiskimmon, LuukMolthof; Part II The 2013 Election; Chapter 5 Chancellor Merkel, the European Debt Crisis and the AfD, MatthiasMader, HaraldSchoen; Chapter 6 Party Manifestos in Representative Democracy, MargretHornsteiner; Chapter 7 Programmatic Change in the Two Main Part Ies, UweJun, SimonJakobs; Chapter 8 The Failed Struggle for Office Instead of Votes, Simon T.Franzmann; Chapter 9 So Similar, Yet So Different, GianfrancoBaldini, SilviaBolgherini; Chapter 10 Coalition Formation and Coalition Governance after the Election of 2013, ThomasSaalfeld;