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In 1990 Germany launched an experiment to transplant democracy into a formerly communist country, effectively dismantling the system of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and rebuilding it in the likeness of the democratic Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). From East Germans to Germans? examines ...

In 1990 Germany launched an experiment to transplant democracy into a formerly communist country, effectively dismantling the system of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and rebuilding it in the likeness of the democratic Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). From East Germans to Germans? examines the role of the first generation of democratically-elected political elites in the former GDR's transition to democracy.

Although there were benefits from the quick transplant of a ready-made democratic system supported by West German financial backing and expertise, there were also problems for the development of postcommunist political leadership and for the growth of mass support for the democratic system. Jennifer A. Yoder analyzes the implications of this process for democratic legitimation and integration. Based on field research in the former East Germany that included interviews with both parliamentarians and common citizens, her study addresses issues such as culture, identity, and the lack of continuity between the old and new political elites. Although the availability of West German role models, together with pressure to conform, allowed the process of decommunization to occur much faster than elsewhere in Eastern Europe, the cultural differences between east and west are more extensive and complex than previously assumed. Yoder shows how Unification has been followed by a reinvigoration of regional interests and how, while some political elites have adopted western German patterns, others openly criticize many of the practices and policies originating in Bonn and present themselves as democratic alternatives and advocates for eastern German interests in the new Germany. Shedescribes how for many eastern Germans these new regional elites are regarded as the only representatives of their interests in the western-dominated political system.

Providing insight into elite-building at a time of transit

Focusing on the historical context in which political theorists have developed their thinking, this textbook provides an invaluable introduction to students of political thought. The authors address a series of canonical major thinkers in the context of three world-changing epochs: the English ...

Focusing on the historical context in which political theorists have developed their thinking, this textbook provides an invaluable introduction to students of political thought. The authors address a series of canonical major thinkers in the context of three world-changing epochs: the English, French and Industrial revolutions. The theorists' ideas are assessed with reference to the politics of their time and show how they responded to, or interacted with, the political events and issues of their day.

The Soviet elite has undergone two major transformations in the 20th century: Stalin's purges and replacement of the old elite by Soviet trained proletarian modernizing managers; and, under Gorbachev, the displacement of modernizing managers by "politicians." This book is an analytical study of the ...

The Soviet elite has undergone two major transformations in the 20th century: Stalin's purges and replacement of the old elite by Soviet trained proletarian modernizing managers; and, under Gorbachev, the displacement of modernizing managers by "politicians." This book is an analytical study of the Soviet political elite as a body, from 1917 to 1990. Focusing on the changing structure of the elite, it is based partly on Farmer's database consisting of biographical and career data on over 1,500 high level leaders. The book also synthesizes the work of four classical theorists--Gaetano Mosca, Vilfredo Pareto, Max Weber, and Alexis de Tocqueville--with more contemporary theorists.

Since the fall of communism, public opinion in Russia, including that of a now more diverse elite, has become a substantial factor in that country's policymaking process. What this opinion might be and how it responds to American actions is the subject of this study. William Zimmerman offers ...

Since the fall of communism, public opinion in Russia, including that of a now more diverse elite, has become a substantial factor in that country's policymaking process. What this opinion might be and how it responds to American actions is the subject of this study. William Zimmerman offers important and sometimes disturbing insight into the thinking of citizens in America's former Cold War adversary about such matters as NATO expansion. Drawing on nearly a decade of unprecedented surveys he conducted with a wide spectrum of the Russian public, he gauges the impact of Russia's opening on its foreign policy and how liberal democrats orient themselves to foreign policy. He also shows that insights from the study of American foreign policy are often "portable" to the study of Russian foreign policy attitudes.As Zimmerman shows, the general public, which had a modest but real role in foreign policy decision making, tended much more toward isolationism than did the predominant elites who steered Russia's foreign policy in the 1990s. Interspersing smooth prose with a wide array of richly informative tables, the book represents an invaluable opportunity to discern probable shifts in Russian foreign policy that domestic political changes would bring. And it powerfully suggests that the West, by forging its own policies toward Russia with more prudence, can have a say in the outcome of the great choice facing Russia--whether to forge ahead with democracy or slip back into authoritarianism.