InfoTrac Reader Germany Like France, Germany had to hold legislative elections in 2002, in this case in the fall. Early in the campaign, it seemed likely that the embattled Socialist-Green coalition headed by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder would lost in a close election. The government was widely blamed for a stagnant economy which was still struggling to cope with the effects of unification and high unemployment. However, Schroeder was able to rebuild his support largely by opposing the United States’ position that ultimately led to the 2003 war in Iraq. In Germany’s case, however, its opposition was less important than that of its neighbor, because, unlike France, it does not have veto power in the United Nations Security Council. Nonetheless, it was at least as vocal as France, and relations with the United States became just as strained. Schroeder’s government seeks to implement major changes in the German economy that would cut taxes and give entrepreneurs more opportunity to build small and medium-sized business. However, Germany has had to deal with slow economic growth and large budget deficits. Schroeder and the various state governments have also dealt with a variety of divisive domestic issues, including the militancy of disaffected young people. The threat of terrorism also affects Germany as it seeks to root out any existing terror cells and also to investigate and potentially prosecute known suspects. The devil they know: the German Federal election of 2002. Peter Pulzer. West European Politics April 2003 v26 i2 p153(13) (5106 words) The likable winner versus the competent loser: candidate images and the German election of 2002. Christopher J. Anderson, Frank Brettschneider. German Politics and Society Spring 2003 v21 i1 p95(24) (8196 words) Letter from Germany. (Opinion). Wolfhart Pannenberg. First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life March 2003 p8(4) (2641 words Berlin's Newest Power: Schroder's big loss puts a secretive legislative group in charge of Germany's economic future. (Europe)(Gerhard Schroder, Mediation Committee) Charles P. Wallace. Time International Feb 17, 2003 v161 i7 p33 (771 words) That malaise thing; Germany's gloom. (The malaise in Germany) The Economist (US) March 27, 2004 v370 i8368 p50US (807 words) Lies the Germans tell themselves. (Observations)(German views of the Second World War and after) Bartosz Jalowiecki. Commentary Jan 2004 v117 i1 p43(4) (3306 words) Slow implosion; Germany's Social Democrats. The troubles of Germany's ruling Social Democratic party The Economist (US) Nov 22, 2003 v369 i8351 p50US (591 words) Breathe or be strangled; Germany's bureaucracy. (A campaign against red tape in Germany) The Economist (US) Oct 11, 2003 v369 i8345 p56US (475 words) Divergent paths: environmental policy in Germany, the United States, and Japan. Miranda A. Schreurs. Environment Oct 2003 v45 i8 p8(9) (7237 words) Playing all sides; Germany's foreign policy. (Germany's emerging foreign policy) The Economist (US) Sept 27, 2003 v368 i8343 p49US (958 words) The exhausting grind of consensus; German reform and democracy. (Germany's effort to impose reform while keeping a consensus) The Economist (US) August 30, 2003 v368 i8339 p35US (869 words) Municipal mayhem; Germany's federalism and finances. The Economist (US) August 16, 2003 v368 i8337 p45US (704 words) Rethinking Corporatism and Consensus: the dilemmas of German social-protection reform. Mark I. Vail. West European Politics July 2003 v26 i3 p41(27) (11966 words) Is Eastern enlargement of the European Union a beneficial investment for Germany? Stephen Wood. Political Science Quarterly Summer 2003 v118 i2 p281(27) (12187 words) Protest and reform in asylum policy: citizen initiatives versus asylum seekers in German Municipalities, 1989-1994. Roger Karapin. German Politics and Society Summer 2003 v21 i2 p1(45) (16104 words) Don't give in; Reform in Germany and France. (The battle for reform in Germany and France) The Economist (US) June 7, 2003 v367 i8327 p13US (792 words) The View from Pluto: Germans see the world with peculiar eyes. Jeffrey Gedmin. National Review May 19, 2003 v55 i9 pNA (1559 words) We're not children! German foreign policy. (Germany's new foreign-policy) The Economist (US) May 17, 2003 v367 i8324 p45US (831 words) Postcards from planet Jupiter. (Coda). Karl E. Meyer. World Policy Journal Spring 2003 v20 i1 p103(3) (2380 words) Can Angela Merkel Save Germany? (Christian Democratic Union leader) Jack Ewing. Business Week March 10, 2003 i3823 p26 (654 words) THE DECLINE OF GERMANY; With a weak economy and little political will to reform, is it fast becoming another Japan? Jack Ewing. Business Week Feb 17, 2003 i3820 p46 (3460 words) Who's right now? Europe's far-right resurgence fizzles out. (Gazette). Steven Hill. The American Prospect Feb 2003 v14 i2 p16(2) (1312 words) The policy impact of church--state relations: family policy and abortion in Britain, France, and Germany. Michael Minkenberg. West European Politics Jan 2003 v26 i1 p195(26) (10090 words) Baumann, Rainer, "The Transformation of German Multilateralism." German Politics and Society. 20 (2002). The author analyzes statements by leading German foreign policy makers in stressing the role that the pursuit of pragmatic self-interest has been the main force leading Germany to commit itself to multilateral institutions. Advanced. Fuchs, Dieter and Robert Rohrschneider, "Postmaterialism and Electoral Choice Before and After Germany Unification." West European Politics. 21(1998). The authors explore how the insecurities associated with unification have reduced the number of postmaterialists in Germany, especially among CDU/CSU voters. Advanced. Capoccia, Giovanni. "The Political Consequences of Electoral Law: Germany at Fifty." West European Politics 25 (2002). This article analyzes the impact of Germany’s hybrid combination of single member districts and proportional representation, concluding that it no longer can ensure that the party system will not fragment. This is important since many Eastern European countries adopted something like the German system after the collapse of communism. Advanced. Nichols, Hans, "Schroeder Must Face Facts in Rift with the United States." Insight on the News.12 November 2002. Relatively little of a systematic nature has been published yet on the 2002 German elections. This is one of the better short pieces. Basic. Ramet, Sabrina. "Religion and Politics in Germany Since 1945." Journal of Church and State 42 (2000). One of the leading experts on the former Yugoslavia looks at the way the Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran churches have contributed to German political stability and democracy since World War Two. Intermediate. Ritter, Henning, "What is Left and What is Right in Germany?" Society. 34 (1997). Explores the ways these terms have evolved in Germany following the collapse of communism. Intermediate. Rucht, Dieter and Jochen Roose. "Neither Decline nor Sclerosis: The Organizational Structure of the German Environmental Movement." West European Politics. 24 (2001). The German environmental movement is important in its own right and as a leading source of support for the Green party which has been in government since 1998. Walker, Martin. "Allies or Satellites." Europe. December 2002. Walker, one of the leading international journalists, explores whether countries like Germany are really allies of the United States or if Washington expects them to be political pawns under its control. Basic. Yoder, Jennifer. "West-East Integration: Lessons for Germany’s Accelerated Tradition. East European Politics and Society. 15(2001). Yoder argues that, contrary to what most observers believe, East Germany’s rapid integration into the west may provide a good preview of what we can expect in other post-communist societies where the transitions have been more gradual. Intermediate.