Applying social psychology: The case of redistributions in unified Germany

Large redistributions between West and East will be necessary within the unified Germany for a long time. The perceived justice of these redistributions is discussed, applying theory and evidence from social justice research and research on prosocial behavior. Views about just distributions and entitlements vary according to the preferred principles of distributions and according to attributions of responsibility for existing inequalities. It is, hypothesized that acceptance of redistributions in West Germany depends on whether the East is seen as having been unjustly disadvantaged after World War II when it was assigned to the influence sphere of the Soviet Union. This fact can be considered in analogy to an exploitation of the East by the West. On the other hand, the economic, problems in the East may also be considered self-inflicted by the former communist regime. A key question is what the attitudes of the population in the former GDR had been toward the communist regime. If the population is considered the victim of the regime, it is entitled to get support; if it is considered to have been sympathetic toward the regime, this is not the case. Acceptance of redistributions depends not only on their justice but also on their efficiency. The relative weight of justice and efficiency depends on the reasons given for the support. If support means repaying debts that were accumulated during the preceding period of being undeservedly privileged in the West, justice will remain the dominant criterion. If support is justified by actual neediness of the East, it will only be granted as help to self-help. Claims for discontinuity of support are expected if it will not be efficient in a near future. Some dangers concerning the integration of the two populations are outlined by listing some potential conditions for a growing distance and reciprocal discrimination up to a reciprocal ethnification between the Eastern and the Western populations.     

The electoral victory of the NPD in Saxony and the prospects for future extreme-right success in German elections

ABSTRACT

Largely because of Germany's traumatic experience of National Socialism, German extreme right-wing parties have remained a marginal post-war political phenomenon. The spectacular electoral victory of the Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands (NPD) in the Saxon parliamentary elections of September 2004 (9.2 per cent of the vote) nurtured the fear that a far-right party could establish itself at the national level. Backes explains the election victory by relating it to a set of Saxon and Eastern German circumstances. He demonstrates that unfavourable conditions, which have so far prevented the establishment of extreme right-wing parties at the national level, still prevail. Against this background, he shows that the NPD's capacity for taking advantage of advantageous conditions (like economic problems and xenophobia, rampant in some places) reaches its limits very quickly.     

Voting when the economy goes bad,everyone is in charge,and no one is to blame: The case of the 2009 German election

The economy was a major issue in Germany’s 2009 election. The global economic crisis did not spare Germany, whose economy is tightly integrated into the global economy. So when the German economy experienced a historical shock, did voters connect their views of the economy with their vote choice? Or did they, as some research has suggested, recognize Germany’s dependence on global markets and cut the government slack, especially when the government consists of the country’s two major parties? Using pre- and post-election panel surveys from the German Longitudinal Election Study (GLES), we investigate the weight that voters gave to the economy, relative to other considerations, when casting their ballot and whether governing parties were disproportionately judged based on the state of the economy.     

Anti-capitalism in the name of ethno-nationalism: ideological shifts on the German extreme right

ABSTRACT

Sommer examines the (re-)emergence of anti-capitalist and anti-globalization themes within the ideology and discourses of the German extreme right. He argues that it would be short-sighted to interpret this development simply as another opportunistic attempt by the extreme right to incorporate Zeitgeist issues into its political agenda in order to appeal to a broader spectrum of supporters. An analysis of the latest campaigns of the Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands (NPD)—the most successful extreme-right party in recent years—as well as the activities of groups that exist within the larger German extreme-right milieu, the so-called freie Kameradschaften, reveals that the taking up of social questions as well as anti-capitalist and anti-globalization themes marks a deeper shift within the political agenda of the extreme right in Germany. However, the analysis shows that racist and antisemitic issues do not disappear with this shift, but are linked with and incorporated into anti-capitalist and anti-globalization discourses.     

Institutional Determinants of Legislative Turnover in the German State Parliaments: 1947–2012

More than 60 years of turnover data were collected to draw a unique picture of membership circulation in the German state parliaments between 1947 and 2012. The empirical study draws on new institutionalist theories in search of variables that might complement electoral volatility in explaining turnover patterns in sub-central Germany. Five institutional variables are tested using hierarchical models. From the substantial set of 196 elections, several robust conclusions can be drawn. The level of legislative turnover is affected by the length of the electoral term, professionalisation and institutionalisation of a legislature, and by changes in parliamentary size. By contrast, the small range of electoral system variation does not add anything to the explanation of variation in aggregate turnover rates at the German sub-central level.     

Unity in the face of threat? Exploring the empirical relationship between strategic threat perceptions and public support for a common European army in Germany

ABSTRACT

Perceptions of threat from Russia’s military activities in Ukraine and President Trump’s critical attitude towards NATO have put the idea of a common European army on the agenda of European politics. Do these strategic threat perceptions also influence public support for the creation of a common European army? Previous research has largely overlooked strategic threat perceptions as individual-level determinants of public support for a common European army. This article explores the empirical relationship between strategic threat perceptions and support for a common European army at the individual level of analysis with representative German survey data from 2018. The multivariate analysis shows that perceiving Russia’s military activities in Ukraine as a threat to Germany’s security, and U.S. foreign and security policy as a threat to the cohesion of NATO significantly increases support for the creation of a common European army, even when the influence of numerous other determinants is controlled for. The findings highlight the importance of considering strategic threat perceptions in future analyses of public opinion on European defence cooperation and integration.     

Keynes,Friedman, or Monnet? Explaining parliamentary voting behaviour on fiscal aid for euro area member states

This article investigates the determinants of parliamentary support for international fiscal aid. Departing from the literature on presidential systems, it analyses an exemplary case of a parliamentary system, Germany. Two theoretical accounts are distinguished. The first perceives MPs as policy-seekers and focuses on the positioning of government and opposition parties and individual MPs on an economic left?right and a pro- versus anti-EU dimension. The second regards MPs as vote-seekers and presumes an electoral district connection. The statistical analysis of a new data-set containing information on 17 Bundestag roll-call votes from 2009 to 2015 finds support for the first account: voting in favour of fiscal aid measures is mainly driven by government membership and EU support. By contrast, neither economic ideologies, nor district or mandate characteristics influence support for fiscal aid. The article contributes to a growing literature on the domestic politics of international political economy.     

The State of the Art of Child Hearings in Germany. Results of a Nationwide Representative Study in German Courts

According to German family law, in family court proceedings that deal with custody or access rights, family judges are obligated to personally hear the child if the feelings, ties, or will of the child are significant for the decision. In a research study commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Justice, a nationwide representative survey of all judges compiled their personal information and their attitudes and expectations as well as various parameters regarding the concrete practice of hearing children. Also, with a very complex methodological design, over 50 children and their parents were studied one week in advance of the hearing, directly before and after the hearing, and four weeks following the hearing. The results of the study are presented, particularly those pertaining to the burden and relief for the children and the expectations of judges. The practical experiences of family judges in personally hearing children are included as well.     

坚持马克思主义在意识形态领域中的指导地位——读《德意志意识形态》有感

《德意志意识形态》是马克思意识形态学说创立的标志著作。但马克思主义是否是意识形态?如果是,那么与资本主义社会的意识形态又有何区别?这些问题时至今日仍为中外学界所关注。梳理马克思《德意志意识形态》一文中的意识形态学说内容,结合实践,证明马克思主义是科学的意识形态,在我国意识形态领域中居于指导地位。     

从《德意志意识形态》解读人的全面发展

马克思、恩格斯在《德意志意识形态》中运用历史唯物主义的观点和方法深入地探析了人的全面发展问题,其中对“现实的人”和人的全面发展理论的论述,成了马克思唯物史观的基础,在马克思主义的思想发展史上具有无可替代的重要意义。