Communism's collapse both prompted and was accelerated by the long-anticipated reunification of Germany. What were the political and social undercurrents that led to the abrupt collapse of East Germany? What problems have arisen since reunification? Clearly, communism has left a cultural and political void that begs to be assessed.

Laurence McFalls here offers a full understanding of communism's collapse, providing an explanation for the cultural conflicts and the identity crisis that have afflicted Germany since reunification. Testing the validity of the common theories of Eastern...

This text explores East German political culture and its role in the revolution of 1989 and in reunification. Specifically the book shows how a set of common values stabilized the communist regime until the 1980s, how the undermining of these values' motivated revolutionary mobilization, and how the partial survival of this specific culture and its conflict with West German culture have contributed to the post-unification political crisis.