The Merkel Republic

Chancellor Angela Merkel has dominated German and European politics for almost a decade. Her stellar reputation, sound political and economic management, and popularity inside of Germany resulted in one of the most decisive electoral victories for her conservative parties in postwar Germany-the country can rightfully be deemed the Merkel Republic. Bringing together German politics experts from both sides of the Atlantic, this volume addresses the campaign, results, and consequences of the 2013 Bundestag election. Chapters delve into a diverse array of themes, including immigrant-origin and women candidates, the fate of the small parties, and the prospects for the SPD, the new coalition partner, as well as more general structural trends like the Europeanization and cosmopolitanization of German politics.

Introduction: Merkel's Nachsommerm rchen?
Eric Langenbacher
Chapter 1. Follow-up to the Grand Coalition. The German Party System before and after the 2013 Federal Election
Frank Decker
Chapter 2. Chancellor Hegemony: Party Politics and the Bundestag Party System after the 2013 Federal Election
Charles Lees
Chapter 3. Past Imperfect, Future Tense: The SPD before and after the 2013 Federal Election
Jonathan Olsen
Chapter 4. Small Parties and the 2013 Bundestag Election: End of the Upward Trend?
David F. Patton
Chapter 5. Many New Faces, but Nothing New? The Sociodemographic and Career Profiles of German Bundestag Members in the Eighteenth Legislative Period
Melanie Kintz
Chapter 6. Closing the Gap:   Gender and Constituency Candidate Nomination in the 2013 Bundestag Election
Louise K. Davidson-Schmich
Chapter 7. Immigration into Politics: Immigrant-origin Candidates and Their Success in the 2013 Bundestag Election
Andreas M. Wü st
Chapter 8. The Reluctant Cosmopolitanization of European Party Politics: The Case of Germany
Lars Rensmann
Chapter 9. European Integration and Party Competition in German Federal Elections
Steven Weldon and Hermann Schmitt
Chapter 10. The Politics of the Eurozone Crisis: Two Puzzles Behind the German Consensus
Wade Jacoby
Chapter 11. Merkel 3. 0: German Foreign Policy in the Aftermath of the 2013 Bundestag Election
Jackson Janes
Epilogue: Concluding Thoughts on the 2013 Bundestag Election
Jeffrey Anderson