Christian Democracy is dead; long live the Union parties: Explaining CDU/CSU dominance within the German Party System

Charlie Lees

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (SciVal)
166 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Since 1949, the CDU/CSU has been the dominant party grouping in the German
party system yet has rarely occupied the political centre ground, as represented
by the so-called median legislator within the Bundestag. This article seeks to
explain the paradox of how a right of centre party faction came to dominate
what has historically been seen as a consensual and centrist party system by
drawing upon the conceptual tools of (1) formal coalition theory and (2) the
notions of path-dependence, rules, norms, beliefs and standard operating procedures.
The article argues there is little reason to believe that the pattern of
dominance established over the last six decades is in any immediate danger.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)64-81
Number of pages18
JournalGerman Politics
Volume22
Issue number1-2
Early online date13 Jun 2013
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2013

Keywords

  • Christian Democracy
  • Coalitions
  • Germany

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Christian Democracy is dead; long live the Union parties: Explaining CDU/CSU dominance within the German Party System'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this