Governance in Contemporary Germany

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s West Germany was considered to be one of the world''s most successful economic and political systems. In his seminal 1987 analysis of West Germany''s ''semisovereign'' system of governance Peter Katzenstein attributed this success to a combination of a fragmented polity consensus politics and incremental policy changes. However unification in 1990 has both changed Germany''s institutional configuration and created economic and social challenges on a huge scale. This volume therefore asks whether semisovereignty still exists in contemporary Germany and crucially whether it remains an asset in terms of addressing these challenges. By shadowing and building on the original study an eminent team of British German and American scholars analyses institutional changes and the resulting policy developments in key sectors with Peter Katzenstein himself providing the conclusion. Together the chapters provide a landmark assessment of the outcomes produced by one of the world''s most important countries.