The Rise and Demise of German Statism: Loyalty and Political Membership [Hardcover]

Gregg O. Kvistad (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1999 | ISBN-10: 1571811613 | ISBN-13: 978-1571811615

German statism as a political ideology has been the subject of many historical studies. Whereas most of these focus on theoretical texts, cultural works, and vague "traditions", this study understands German statism as a functioning logic of political membership, a logic that has helped to determine who is "in" and who is "out" with regard to the German political community. Tracing statism from the early 19th century through German unification and beyond in the 1990s, the author argues that, with its central concern for a political loyalty that is vetted "from above," it historically served the function of stabilizing the political order and containing democratic mobilization. Beginning in the 1960s, however, a mobilized German democratic consciousness "from below" gradually rejected statism as anachronistic for informing political and policy debate, and German political institutions began to respond to kind.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"There is no comparable treatment available in either English or German." * William E.Paterson, Birmingham University "No book approaches Kvistad's volume on German statism. It is hard to single out the best parts of this outstanding book. Highly recommended for upper-division undergraduates and above." * CHOICE

About the Author

Gregg Kvistad is Associate Professor and Chair in the Department of Political Science at the University of Denver.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Berghahn Books (February 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571811613
• ISBN-13: 978-1571811615
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,288,408 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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