Book Review: Mónica Ferrín and Hanspeter Kriesi (eds), How Europeans View and Evaluate Democracy
| DOI | 10.1177/1478929917712903 |
| Date | 01 November 2017 |
| Author | Daniel J Devine |
| Published date | 01 November 2017 |
| Subject Matter | Book ReviewsEurope |
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Germany After the 2013 Elections: Breaking
(GLES) and other primary sources. As a result,
the Mould of the Post-Unification Politics?
the discussions of voting behaviour and party
by Gabriele D’Ottavio and Thomas Saalfeld
strategy remain tentative and insufficiently sup-
(eds). Farnham: Ashgate, 2015. 228pp., £65.00
ported by evidence. Second, the book lacks a
(h/b), ISBN 9781472444394
global assessment of the significance of the
2013 federal election for the development of the
This edited volume is a welcome addition to
German political system. The findings of the
the well-established literature on German fed-
individual chapters are quickly summarised in
eral elections, which includes classic book
the introduction, but not further discussed or
series by VS Verlag, Nomos, Berghahn (in
drawn together into a coherent argument. This
English) and other more occasional publica-
leads the editors to mistakenly label the election
tions. The book under review collects in-depth
as a ‘watershed’, instead of as a temporary
analyses by leading experts and younger
rebound in the long-term decline of the two
researchers on the 2013 federal election, its
‘people’s parties’ underway since 1976 and
antecedents and its foreseeable consequences.
accelerating since 2002.
The 11 chapters discuss the record of the out-
going centre-right coalition; Germany’s
Paolo Chiocchetti
European and foreign policy; the election’s
(University of Luxembourg)
results; voting behaviour; party manifestos; the
© The Author(s) 2017
strategy of large (CDU/CSU and SPD),
Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
medium (FDP, LINKE and GRÜNE) and new
DOI: 10.1177/1478929917717439
journals.sagepub.com/home/psrev
parties (AfD and PIRATEN); and the forma-
tion of a grand coalition cabinet.
Some chapters are particularly noteworthy.
How Europeans View and Evaluate
Reimut Zohlnhöfer provides a convincing
Democracy by Mónica Ferrín...
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