The course adresses incoming B.A. and M.A. students alike. It provides an introduction to the german political system and country-specific concepts political science applies to analyse it. As such, it is intended to be a starting point for further studies of the german political landscape. Depending on the learning progress and the previous knowledge of the participants, we will take a more in-depth look at a complex policy like the early 2000's reform politics ("Hartz-Reform").