Seminar with excursion: The Hessian party system - quo vadis?

• Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schroeder
• Wednesdays 12:00-14:00, Room 614, Mönchebergstr. 7
• Start: 18.04.07
• Excursion to Wiesbaden: May 29-31, 2007

The parties occupy a prominent position in the political system of the Federal Republic of Germany. If one looks around in research, however, one realizes that the parties at the state level are only dealt with very sporadically.

In this seminar, we will take a fundamental look at the German party system. We will use the Hessian party system as a case study to provide an exemplary insight into the development patterns and problem-solving strategies of German parties.

An excursion to Wiesbaden, during which we will hold discussions with representatives of all parties represented in the Hessian state parliament, is intended to deepen the previously theoretical material through discussions.

We have three learning objectives: Firstly, we want to look at the development of the German party system. What are the legal and institutional foundations of the parties? How did the membership base, program, internal structure and social anchoring of the individual parties develop?

Secondly, we will provide an introduction to the political science methods and theories of party research. And thirdly, we want to look at the question of what the special features of the Hessian party system are and to what extent we can speak of a crisis in this party system.

It is assumed that all participants have read the basic work on the German parties by Ulrich von Alemann (Das Parteiensystem der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Opladen 2002 or 2007) at the beginning of the seminar.

Literature:

• Alemann, Ulrich von, Das Parteiensystem der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Opladen 2002 (new edition 2007 forthcoming).
• Gabriel, Oscar W./Niedermayer Oskar/Stöss Richard (eds.), Parteiendemokratie in Deutschland, Bonn 1997.
• Niedermayer, Oskar (ed.), Die Parteien nach der Bundestagswahl 1998, Opladen 1999.
• Walter, Franz/Dürr, Tobias, The Homelessness of Power. How politics in Germany lost its ground, Berlin 2000.

Alemann's book can now be purchased for 2 euros in room 3106.

Information for students
Click HEREfor password-protected materials and information on the event.