German Federalism: Past, Present and Future

✍ Scribed by Maiken Umbach (eds.)

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK
• Year: 2002
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 231
• Series: New Perspectives in German Studies
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This book explores the German idea of federalism denoting 'diversity within unity'. Historians, linguists and political scientists examine how federalism emerged in the Holy Roman Empire, was re-shaped by nineteenth-century cultural movements, and was adopted by the unified state in 1871 and again after 1945. The myth of federalism as a safeguard against totalitarianism is tested in regard to the Third Reich and the GDR. The book concludes with an outlook on German federalism's future in Europe.

✦ Table of Contents

Front Matter....Pages i-xv
Introduction: German Federalism in Historical Perspective....Pages 1-14
Federal Habits: the Holy Roman Empire and the Continuity of German Federalism....Pages 15-41
History and Federalism in the Age of Nation-State Formation....Pages 42-69
Federalism and the Heimat Idea in Imperial Germany....Pages 70-90
Political Unity and Linguistic Diversity in Nineteenth-Century Germany....Pages 91-112
Federalism in the Nazi State....Pages 113-145
Democratic Centralism and Regionalism in the GDR....Pages 146-171
German Federalism from Cooperation to Competition....Pages 172-188
Challenges and Perspectives for German Federalism....Pages 189-205
German Federalism in History: Some Afterthoughts....Pages 206-210
Back Matter....Pages 211-215

✦ Subjects

European Union Politics;European Politics;European History;Modern History;Political Science;Political History