Abstract: In the 1980's the West Germany party system finds itself in a new stage of development which bodes well for the continued long-term development of the second republic. Drawing on research from the comparative historical development of party systems and democratic regimes as well as from analysis of the recent elections, it is suggested that the concentration process in the party system of 1949-1983 has evolved into a more dispersed pattern with predominantly positive consequences for the Bonn democracy. The rise of the Greens, the gradual decline of the SPD, and the center-right coalition of CDU/CSU/FDP are analyzed from the standpoint of their contribution to stable and effective democracy. The nature of the coalition dynamics on both sides of the right-left spectrum are discussed with the conclusion that while West Germany is predominantly a Parteiendemokratie, the new forms of participation, the further development of pluralism, and the increased competition of ideas make it a democracy governed essentially by parliamentary parties yet more responsive to extraparliamentary forces. The proper way to understand the development of the party system in West Germany is to begin with an historical perspective which looks at the relationship between the party system, the nature of pluralism, and the larger question of political development in the German tradition. In this essay the historical overview serves to set the stage for an analysis of the pattern of development of the parties in postwar West Germany. The federal election of 1987 is analyzed both as a focal point of the changing party system and as a juncture from which to speculate about future trends. The final part of the paper assesses the nature of West German democracy with the assertion that, even with the unresolved issues of national identity, a more dense pluralism and a more competitive party system augur well for the stability and effectiveness of the Bonn republic. The German pattern of political development has been uncomfortably convulsive,' and it has been especially difficult to establish a tradition of dissent and opposition in a polity where national unity has always been such an elusive goal. It is asserted here that one of the significant factors in the evolution of the West German political system is not just the increased intensity and range of political participation,2 but also the expansion of constitutional rights and procedures which soften the hierarchy of authority in the regime and create, in Dahl's term, areas of mutual control.3 The testing of the limits of dissent and the experiments in political protest of
Publication Year: 2016
Publication Date: 2016-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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