The CDU and the Politics of Gender in Germany: Bringing Women to the Party

ISBN-13: 9780521765824 / Angielski / Twarda / 2010 / 267 str.

Sarah Elise Wiliarty

Opis

This book develops the concept of the corporatist catch-all party to explain how the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has responded to changing demands from women over the past forty years. Otto Kirchheimer s classic study argues that when catch-all parties reach out to new constituencies, they are forced to decrease the involvement of membership to facilitate doctrinal flexibility. In a corporatist catch-all party, however, societal interests are represented within the party organization and policy making is the result of internal party negotiation. Through an investigation of CDU policy making in the issue areas of abortion policy, work-family policy, and participation policy, this book demonstrates that sometimes the CDU mobilizes rather than disempowers membership. An important lesson of this study is that a political party need not sacrifice internal democracy and ignore its members in order to succeed at the polls."

Recenzje

'One of the book's most notable strengths is its creative and potentially very useful model.' Ronald J. Granieri, Temple University

Spis treści

Introduction: a democratic paradox?; 1. The puzzle of CDU policy making on women's issues; 2. The corporatist catch-all party model; 3. The postwar CDU: origins of a corporatist catch-all party; 4. The emergence of the Women's Union, 1969–1982; 5. The Women's Union in the dominant coalition, 1982–1989; 6. Looking eastward: the Women's Union and cobbled coalitions, 1989–1998; 7. The rise of Angela Merkel: policy and personnel decisions of the CDU in unified Germany; 8. Christian democracy with and without corporatism: policy making on women's issues in Austria, Italy and the Netherlands; Conclusion; Appendix A: list of cited interviews.