This volume presents often sharply contrasting views on the future of NATO. Its contributors, mainly security specialists, cover structural reform of NATO and its relationship with the European Union; evidence or arguments in support of the Alliance taking on new tasks like peacekeeping and enlarging eastward to include countries of the former Soviet bloc; and a variety of arguments against enlargement, ranging from concerns about Russia's reaction to questions about whether the US should remain involved in Europe.

More durable than any other contemporary democratic head of government and all previous German chancellors since Bismarck, Helmut Kohl has earned a place in history by helping to end his own nations's division and shape a new Europe. In this volume, his leadership and legacy are assessed, and the contributors analyze the chancellor's goals and governing style, including his part in promoting European integration, as well as Kohl's domestic political role - vis a vis his own party, its main opponents and the public - among fellow European leaders.

The election of 2005 changed Germany's political 'landscape'. The combined share of the vote gained by the two major parties fell below 70 per cent, eliminating the option of a coalition between one of the two major parties (Christian Democrats and Social Democrats) with one of the smaller parties - the traditional pattern of government that had dominated German post-war politics since the late 1950s. The election resulted in the first national 'Grand Coalition' of the two major parties since 1969. While some have seen this government, elected in November 2005 and headed by the Christian Democrat Angela Merkel, as the symptom of a crisis of the traditional post-war German party system, others have highlighted the opportunities it opens up for constitutional and policy reform as Merkel's 'Grand Coalition' controls an overwhelming majority of the votes in both houses of the German legislature. The German Election of 2005 analyses the road to the 2005 election and provide in-depth studies of the campaign and candidates, of voting behaviour and immediate consequences of the election, with contributions from leading experts from Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. The findings are informed by theoretical and empirical work in the comparative study of parties and elections offering a nuanced, empirically rich picture of continuity and change in German electoral politics.

This volume presents often sharply contrasting views on the future of NATO. Its contributors, mainly security specialists, cover structural reform of NATO and its relationship with the European Union; evidence or arguments in support of the Alliance taking on new tasks like peacekeeping and enlarging eastward to include countries of the former Soviet bloc; and a variety of arguments against enlargement, ranging from concerns about Russia's reaction to questions about whether the US should remain involved in Europe.

As Germany returns its national government from Bonn to Berlin, the country's politics have become more uncertain than at any time since World War II. Since unification there has been an ongoing debate, both inside and outside Germany, concerning its power, intentions, identity, and domestic structure. Examining the country's image of political drift, the authors focus on current debates regarding Germany's welfare state, European monetary policy, security policy, warnings about a supposed 'German hegemony' in Europe, symbolic or geopolitical implications of the return to Berlin, and new complexities in party politics and public opinion. The authors also question recent analyses that suggest the direction of German politics is either one of overall 'continuity' or fundamental 'transformation.' Although there is far more similarity between the Berlin Republic and its West German predecessor than there ever could have been between 'Weimar' and 'Bonn, ' the authors also show that united Germany is in many ways more than an enlarged version of its successful forerunner. Intended for both specialists and generalists, this timely volume will be especially valuable for students of comparative and international politics who wish to understand the new Germany in its European and international context.