The 2013 federal election in Germany took place amidst considerable uncertainty over the EU’s economic crisis. Financial rescue packages for several countries required the provision of huge sums. Some EU-members barely avoided the economic abyss. Germany, however, was spared much of the hardship as her economy produced record-levels of employment, exports boomed, and German state coffers began to see a budget surplus. Against this backdrop, this book examines the choices offered to voters by parties, and publics’ decision calculus. How did Germany’s voter evaluate economic conditions and the Euro crisis? For example, is there a demand for a new party representing the rising EU-skeptical sentiments? How did long-term developments such as the weakening party-voter ties affect the election outcome? What programs did parties offer to voters in the election? The book brings together several leading experts of German and European politics to address these questions. The chapters were originally published as a special issue in German Politics.

The German Federal Election of 2021 was one of the most open and competitive in the post-war era. This book provides a systematic analysis of its domestic and international context, the shifting balance of the political parties, the election strategies and campaign themes, along with the challenges of government formation. An international array of scholars from Europe, North America and Australasia have contributed specially commissioned chapters on their principal areas of research. The discussion of individual topics is combined with sufficient background information so as to be accessible to readers who may not have detailed knowledge of German politics. In addition, by including links to multimedia election-related content we enhance the value of this volume and make it an indispensable reference tool.

This book identifies the different forms that protest voting can take in times when populism flourishes. Contrary to the popular view of protest voting as merely venting frustration, this book argues that protest voting can also be conceived of as a strategic signal of discontent, originating from sources, such as party policy positions. The empirical analyses rest on election survey data collected in democratic countries around the world between 2005 and 2017 to understand protest voting as a strategic signal, and the conditions under which it occurs. The main results show that protest voting can indeed be a strategic signal. This finding challenges the predominant view in the literature and the public discourse of protest voters as aimless, frustrated voters.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. Over the past half century, the behavior of German voters has changed profoundly - at first rather gradually, but during the last decade at accelerated speed. Electoral decision-making has become much more volatile, rendering election outcomes less predictable. Party system fragmentation intensified sharply. The success of the AfD put an end to Germany's exceptionality as one of the few European countries without a strong right-wing populist party. Utilizing a wide range of data compiled by the German Longitudinal Election Study, the book examines changing voters' behavior in the context of changing parties, campaigns, and media during the period of its hitherto most dramatically increased fluidity at the 2009, 2013, and 2017 federal elections. Guided by the notions of realignment and dealignment the study addresses three questions: How did the turbulences that increasingly characterize German electoral politics come about? How did they in turn condition voters' decision-making? How were voters' attitudes and choices affected by situational factors that pertained to the specifics of particular elections? The Changing German Voter demonstrates how traditional cleavages lost their grip on voters and a new socio-cultural line of conflict became the dominant axis of party competition. A series of major crises, but also programmatic shifts of the established parties promoted this development. It led to a segmentation of the party system that pits the right-wing populist AfD against the traditional parties. The book also demonstrates the relevance of coalition preferences, candidate images as well as media and campaign effects for voters' attitudes, beliefs, and preferences.

This book examines the crisis in Ukraine, tracing its development and analysing the factors which lie behind it. It discusses above all how the two sides have engaged in political posturing, accusations, escalating sanctions and further escalating threats, arguing that the ease with which both sides have reverted to a Cold War mentality demonstrates that the Cold War belief systems never really disappeared, and that the hopes raised in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union for a new era in East-West relations were misplaced. The book pays special attention to the often ignored origins of the crisis within Ukraine itself, and the permanent damage caused by the fact that Ukrainians are killing Ukrainians in the eastern parts of the country. It also assesses why Cold War belief systems have re-emerged so easily, and concludes by considering the likely long-term ramifications of the crisis, arguing that the deep-rooted lack of trust makes the possibility of compromise even harder than in the original Cold War.

This thoroughly revised and updated edition provides a comprehensive introduction to contemporary Germany, one of the world’s leading economic and political powers. Tracing the country’s transformation since World War II, the author provides an in-depth guide to Germany’s current institutions, actors, and challenges.

Germany has undergone more change in the past two years than it has experienced in decades. In the fall of 2021, the Social Democratic Party unexpectedly surged to first place in the Bundestag elections, going on to lead a coalition of SPD, Greens, and Free Democrats that promised to “dare more progress” domestically. Then just two months after the new government was installed, Russia invaded Ukraine. The contributions in this volume investigate the altered state of German politics and predict the trajectory of Europe’s leading power in the transformed geopolitical environment.

Zusammenfassung: This book traces the rise of the far right AfD from its inception in 2013 to its re-election to the Bundestag in 2021, emphasizing the party's nature as a "populist issue entrepreneur" and covering the three major crises that have shaken European party politics - the Eurozone crisis, the so-called refugee crisis, and the COVID pandemic. Currently, books on the topic of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) are largely limited to historical treatments and surface level analyses of the political party. This volume has the virtue of being both empirically rigorous as well as conceptually nuanced: it seeks to understand the party's political trajectory and attraction to supporters by analyzing its voters using advanced quantitative methodologies, as well as interpreting the party's communication strategies through mixed empirical methods. It embeds this account within a theoretically well-grounded argument. The argument emphasizes three important explanatory conditions - a favorable political opportunity structure, issue entrepreneurship, and the party's stages of political development. Michael A. Hansen is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Turku, Finland. He previously held a Postdoctoral position at Lund University and was an Assistant Professor at University of Wisconsin Parkside. Jonathan Olsen is Professor and Chair, Department of Social Sciences and Historical Studies at Texas Woman's University, USA

Are you intrigued by voting systems and their impact on democracy? Wasted Vote provides an in-depth analysis of electoral strategies and their political consequences. Ideal for professionals, students, and anyone interested in political science. Explore complex electoral systems and strategic voting through this detailed guide. 1: Wasted Vote: Understand how votes can be lost and its implications for democracy. 2: Plurality Voting: Learn about the system where the candidate with the most votes wins, even without a majority. 3: Proportional Representation: Discover how this system reflects the proportion of votes each party receives. 4: Party-List Proportional Representation: Explore how seats are allocated based on party vote shares. 5: Two-Round System: See how a second voting round is used if no majority is achieved initially. 6: Single Transferable Vote: Understand this ranking system and its role in fair representation. 7: Strategic Voting: Examine how voters may cast ballots to influence outcomes beyond personal preferences. 8: Electoral Threshold: Learn about the minimum vote percentages needed for representation. 9: Single Non-Transferable Vote: Explore the system where voters choose one candidate, and the top vote-getters win. 10: First-Past-the-Post Voting: Analyze this straightforward system where the most-voted candidate wins. 11: Parallel Voting: Understand this hybrid system combining proportional and majoritarian elements. 12: Open List: Discover how voters can influence candidate selection within a party. 13: Electoral District: Learn about the role of districts in shaping representation. 14: Elections in Greece: Investigate Greece's electoral system and its political implications. 15: BC-STV: Examine the British Columbia Single Transferable Vote system and its effects on Canadian elections. 16: Edmonton (Provincial Electoral District): Explore the Edmonton district’s role in local elections. 17: Issues Affecting the Single Transferable Vote: Delve into the challenges and debates surrounding this system. 18: Semi-Proportional Representation: Understand systems balancing fairness and practicality. 19: Electoral System: Broaden your knowledge of various electoral systems and their theories. 20: Italian Electoral Law of 2017: Analyze the impact of Italy's 2017 electoral reforms. 21: Apportionment in the Hellenic Parliament: Learn about apportionment methods in Greece and their effects on representation. Wasted Vote is more than a book; it’s a gateway to understanding democratic mechanisms and their impact on political outcomes.

Approval Voting-Enhancing Democratic Representation in Political Science What is Approval Voting? This book explores approval voting systems and their impact on democratic representation, voter satisfaction, and efficiency. It offers a deep dive into the benefits and challenges of using this system in elections. Chapters Overview 1-Approval Voting-Introduction to the core concepts and principles of approval voting. 2-Score Voting-Compares score voting and its outcomes with approval voting. 3-Condorcet Method-Discusses the Condorcet method and its differences from approval voting. 4-Strategic Voting-Analyzes strategic voting and how approval voting interacts with it. 5-Borda Count-Reviews the Borda count system and its comparative advantages. 6-Condorcet Winner Criterion-Evaluates approval voting against the Condorcet winner criterion. 7-Condorcet Loser Criterion-Investigates how approval voting handles the Condorcet loser criterion. 8-Participation Criterion-Examines approval voting's impact on voter participation. 9-Comparison of Electoral Systems-A detailed comparison of approval voting with other systems. 10-Multiwinner Voting-Explores approval voting’s application in multiwinner elections. 11-Two-Round System-Compares the two-round system with approval voting. 12-Bucklin Voting-Introduction to Bucklin voting and its mechanisms. 13-Majority Criterion-Evaluates approval voting against the majority criterion. 14-Nanson’s Method-Analyzes Nanson’s method and its relevance to approval voting. 15-Later-No-Harm Criterion-Discusses this criterion and its role in voter behavior. 16-Independence of Clones Criterion-Explores the criterion’s importance in approval voting. 17-Instant-Runoff Voting-Compares instant-runoff voting with approval voting. 18-Cardinal Voting-Analyzes cardinal voting systems and voter satisfaction. 19-Ranked Voting-Compares ranked voting systems with approval voting. 20-Later-No-Help Criterion-Investigates this criterion in the context of approval voting. 21-STAR Voting-Introduction to STAR voting and its comparison to approval voting. Who is this book for? This book is invaluable for students, professionals, and enthusiasts seeking a comprehensive understanding of electoral systems, providing essential insights into the nuances of approval voting.