Prime Ministers (PMs) are the most influential, powerful, and visible politicians in parliamentary democracies. Their prominent role has been increasing in Western democracies due to the 'presidentialization of politics'. But is this also true for new democracies, such as those in post-communist Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)? As politics in CEE has been characterized by high personalization, weak voter-party linkages, and strong media influence of political leaders, prime-ministerial pe...

This book offers a systematic, theory-based, and empirically grounded introduction to the political system of Germany. Compared to other textbooks on government and politics in Germany, it has two particular benefits. First, it analyzes the individual dimensions of the German political system from a uniform theoretical perspective based on the well-known distinction between majoritarian and consensus democracy. Second, it particularly explains how political decision-making in the multi-lev...

Dieses Lehrbuch bietet eine systematische, theoriegeleitete und empirisch basierte Einführung in das politische System Deutschlands. Es wendet sich vornehmlich an Studierende der Politikwissenschaft, aber auch an alle Interessierten, die einen theoretisch und empirisch fundierten Überblick über die politischen Institutionen und Prozesse in der Bundesrepublik gewinnen wollen. Die einzelnen Dimensionen des politischen Systems werden aus einer einheitlichen Perspektive analysiert, die auf der...

Die Bundestagswahl 2017 hat gezeigt: Das Wahlsystem für den Deutschen Bundestag bedarf dringend einer erneuten Reform. Das im Jahr 2013 zuletzt reformierte Bundestagswahlgesetz gilt als zu kompliziert und intransparent, ist nur noch für Experten verständlich und kann zu unkontrollierten Vergrößerungen des Deutschen Bundestages führen. Bei der Bundestagswahl 2017 ist die Zahl der Abgeordneten von 598 auf 709 angestiegen – eine unnötige Vergrößerung des Parlaments, die durch eine rechtzeitig...

This book discusses how the extension of voting rights beyond citizenship (i.e., to non-national immigrants) and residence (i.e., to expatriates) can be interpreted in the light of democratization processes in both Western countries and in developing regions. It does so by inserting the globalization-specific extension of voting rights to immigrants and expatriates within the long-term series of historical waves of democratization. Does the current extension enhance democracy by granting d...

This book focuses on Prime Ministers (PMs) in the post-communist democracies of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). It shows how the survival of PMs in chief executive office depends on their interrelations with other actors in three different arenas. The first arena encompasses the linkages between PMs and their parties. In this respect, being a party leader is a major power resource for PMs to retain office even under critical circumstances. At the heart of the second arena is the PMs’ rel...