Description
Book SynopsisThis book compares eastern and western German state legislators in the decade following unification.
Trade Review"A volume in the series Contemporary European Politics and Society compares the political attitudes and values of east and west German state legislators after German reunification. Implications for successful democratization and institutional resilience are discussed." —Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
"Contrasts the political attitudes and behavior of the state legislators in eastern and western Germany during the decade following the unification; finds little evidence that the easterners' values have hindered their adaptation to the new system." —The Chronicle of Higher Education
"The emphasis on 'becoming' provides a unique perspective on when and how successful post-communist politicians of eastern Germany learn to function in a new democratic political system. This examination of state-level legislators concentrates on a discrete decade, shared by all post-communist countries, but under the unique circumstances of sudden absorption into west Germany. Using a wide range of materials, Becoming Party Politicians shows how legislators unlearn the anti-party attitudes and habits of the one-party state to become 'party politicians' in a multi-party nation." —David M. Olson, Professor Emeritus, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
"This study builds on earlier research on the implications of the German model of post-communist transition; it asks important questions about the effects of transferring western German political institutions on eastern German legislators' behaviors. In its examination of the integration of two culturally distinct groups, Becoming Party Politicians has relevance well beyond the German case. Davidson-Schmich's analysis is sharp, tightly organized and accessible to undergraduates as well as advanced scholars." —Jennifer A. Yoder, Colby College
"Becoming Party Politicians addresses an intriguing issue that in one form or another faces all new democracies: how, and how successfully, do such regimes acquire and socialize the political elites they need to lead them? In her exploration of that issue, and in her choice of members of east German state parliaments, Davidson-Schmich has written an interesting, well-researched, and well-executed study." —Thomas A. Baylis, University of Wisconsin
