Hough, Dan, Koß, Michael and Olsen, Jonathon (2007) The Left Party in Contemporary German Politics. New perspectives in German Studies . Palgrave. ISBN 9780230019072

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Abstract

The Linkspartei is Germany's newest political party. It grew out of the predominantly eastern German PDS and the largely western German WASG. It is the first party in Germany's history to stabilize itself as a serious competitor to the left of Germany's Social Democrats. Its organizational resilience and its strong electoral performances would therefore indicate that it will be here to stay for a while to come.

This book analyses how the Left Party came into existence, why it has been successful and where it is likely to go - in programmatic, strategic and electoral terms - from here. It compares the Left Party's political development with that of post-war Germany's other most famous outsider-turned-insider party, the Greens, and it also analyses the Left Party's performances in sub-national governments. It therefore contributes to wider debates on how, when and why parties 'de-radicalize' as they become more embedded in a political system.

Item Type:	Book
Additional Information:	This book - on which DH was the lead author - stems from an ESRC funded research project (RES-000-22-0803) on how radical parties behave once they take on governmental responsibility. It analyses how the Left Party (founded in 2005) came into existence, why it has been successful and where it is likely to go - in programmatic, strategic and electoral terms - from here. The book develops an innovative approach to understanding how one party can pursue different goals (office, votes and policy) in different electoral arenas. The book also compares the Left Party's political development with that of post-war Germany's other most famous outsider-turned-insider party, the Greens, and it also analyses the Left Party's performances in Land governments. It therefore contributes to wider debates on how, when and why parties `de-radicalise' as they become more embedded in a political system. The book will also make an important contribution to understanding coalition dynamics in Germany in forthcoming years, as newer actors such as the Left Party are increasingly brought into the coalition equation.
Schools and Departments:	School of Law, Politics and Sociology > Politics
Depositing User:	Daniel Hough
Date Deposited:	06 Feb 2012 21:29
Last Modified:	24 Jun 2015 10:35
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/31419

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