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In November 1918, German women gained the right to vote, and female suffrage would forever change the landscape of German political life. Women now constituted the majority of voters, and political parties were forced to address them as political actors for the first time. Analyzing written and visual propaganda aimed at, and frequently produced by, women across the political spectrum--including the Communists and Social Democrats; liberal, Catholic, and conservative parties; and the Nazis--Julia Sneeringer shows how various groups struggled to reconcile traditional assumptions about women's interests with the changing face of the family and female economic activity. Through propaganda, political parties addressed themes such as motherhood, fashion, religion, and abortion. But as Sneeringer demonstrates, their efforts to win women's votes by emphasizing "women's issues" had only limited success. The debates about women in propaganda were symptomatic of larger anxieties that gripped Germany during this era of unrest, Sneeringer says. Though Weimar political culture was ahead of its time in forcing even the enemies of women's rights to concede a public role for women, this horizon of possibility narrowed sharply in the face of political instability, economic crises, and the growing specter of fascism

The tradition of legalism continues to influence German politics, generating a corollary propensity toward judicial resolutions of political disputes. Appeal to the Federal Constitutional Court, established after World War II, has been used increasingly as a weapon of political opposition. Despite self-restraint vis-a-vis the political authorities, the Court has sometimes construed basic rights expansively as 'participatory' rights to positive government action. Recently it has been criticized for conservatism & a tendency to restrict future legislative discretion. While the 'politicalization of justice' resulting from the judicialization of politics could reduce respect for the Court's authority, it could also foster a healthier relationship between politics & the law. Modified HA.

Intro -- Foreword By Philip G. Zimbardo -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- Part I. Power, Ideology, And Political Crime -- 1. Towards A New Conceptualization Of Power -- 2. The Historical Setting Of The National Socialist Rise To Power And Its Sociological Implications -- Part Ii. Sociological Factors In The Development Of The Ns Party Bureaucracy -- Part Iii. The Ss - An Example Of A Totalitarian Bureaucratic Institution -- 1. Origin And Early History Of The Ss -- 2. Himmler'S Rise To Power -- 3. The Emergence Of The Ss As An Independent System Of Power And The Role Of Its Sub-Systems -- 4. Promulgation And Application Of Racial Doctrines In The Ss -- 5. Racial Criteria For Selection Of Personnel Into The Ss -- 6. Ideological Criteria For Selection, Indoctrination, And Training -- 7. 'Lebensborn' - Example Of An Ns Social Institution -- 8. Jewish And Non-German Descent In The Ss -- 9. The Conception Of Morality And Honor In The 'Schutzstaffel' -- 10. Consequences Of Hitler'S Influence On Ns Ideology And The Ss -- 11. The Perception Of God In The Ss -- 12. Discussion And Conclusion -- Part Iv. Totalitarian Institutions And German Bureaucracy: A Process Of Escalation Into Destruction -- 1. Discussion -- 2. Conclusion -- Part V. Sociological Implications Of Deviance And Accountability In Ns Political And Bureaucratic Institutions -- 1. The Sociological Vision Of Walther Rathenau'S Concept Of Social Change -- 2. National Socialist Aggression And Psychoanalytic Theory -- Notes And References -- Appendices -- Bibliography -- Index.

John Breuilly brings together a distinguished group of international scholars to examine Germany's history from 1780 to 1918, featuring chapters on economic, demographic and social as well as cultural and intellectual history. There are also chapters on political and military history covering the revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, the post-Napoleonic period, the revolutions of 1848-1849, the unification of Germany, Bismarckian Germany and Wilhelmine Germany, and Germany during the First World War.0This new edition, which retains the helpful further reading suggestions for each chapter and a chronology, has been completely updated to take account of recent historiography. The statistical data has been expanded, more maps and images have been introduced, and there are two new chapters on transnational approaches and gender history. Finally, the editor has added a conclusion which reflects on the key developments in the history of Germany over the "long nineteenth century".0Providing clear surveys of the central events and developments and addressing major debates amongst historians, Nineteenth-Century Germany is vital reading for all those wishing to understand this crucial period in modern German history

German politics are still influenced by the tradition of legalism. Constitutional provisions often serve as criteria of political argument, and constitutional principles (e.g. the 'social state') and basic rights may be portrayed as programmatic 'commandments' justifying specific political demands. The corollary is a propensity towards judicial, and thus 'authoritative', solutions to political disputes. The post-war establishment of the Federal Constitutional Court with comprehensive constitutional jurisdiction and easy access for the political actors has subjected major political issues to legal adjudication. Increasingly appeal to the Court has become a weapon of opposition, resorted to by the Christian Democrats to challenge such measures as the Basic Treaty with East Germany and the Abortion Reform. Despite general self-restraint vis-à-vis the political authorities, the Court has sometimes construed basic rights expansively as 'participatory' rights to positive government action. Recently it has been criticised for 'conservatism' and a tendency to restrict future legislative discretion. The 'politicization of justice', emerging from the judicialization of politics, could affect respect for the Court as authoritative arbiter. But it may foster a healthier relationship between politics and the law.

Land, people, society -- A turbulent history is prologue to the present -- Germany divided and unified -- Political and popular culture -- Constitutional principles and political institutions -- Political parties in a democratic polity -- Election outcomes and voting trends -- Organized interest groups and social movements -- Socioeconomic policies and performance -- Germany in Europe and the world -- Germany in the twenty-first century