One of the most important themes in German politics over the last decades has been the gradual decline of political parties as effective vehicles to link citizens and the state in representative democracy. Among the key catalysts for this diagnosis of crisis has been the organisational transformation of political parties, away from mass membership organisations rooted in civil society to increasingly professionalised entities inseparable from the state.
At the same time we see the decline of traditional political parties we observe the emergence of new social movements, alternative forms of political participation and activism. Since many established parties in Germany experienced citizen defection, many have experimented with implementation of new forms of party membership and affiliation, whether through supporters’ networks, cyber members or movement-style politics.

Course Goal:
This course is designed to offer an introduction to the political system of Germany and an overview about party system change (from heterogeneity to concentration to heterogeneity) in Germany. We will carefully discuss aspects of party change and political participation in Germany. The course provides an in-depth examination of the interplay between two key intermediaries of the German political system: political parties and social movements.

Required Readings:
The required readings are available as PDFs or as links to articles/books licensed by the UDE libraries on the course’s website (Moodle course)