National Identity in Eastern Germany: Inner Unification or Continued Separation?

by Andreas Staab

Overview

On October 30, 1990, Germany was formally reunified through an extension of the legal, political, and economic structures of West Germany into the former German Democratic Republic. For East Germans this transformation has been a challenging process. Former values, orientations, and standards have been subject to severe scrutiny as reunification has affected virtually every area of life.

Staab analyzes the development from the divided to the unified Germany and asks to what extent East Germans have adopted a national identity in line with that of the West Germans. He examines such identity markers as attitudes toward territory, economics, ethnicity, mass culture, and civic-political activity. Identifying a significant range of commonalities, he also finds striking features of mutually exclusive areas working to prevent a shared national identity. Scholars and other researchers dealing with German politics and contemporary history, political sociology, and nationalism will be interested in this book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275961770
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	03/30/1998
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.56(d)
Lexile:	1360L (what's this?)

About the Author

ANDREAS STAAB is Academic Development Officer, European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science. He lectures on European and German politics and has published articles on German identity and German public administration.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Territory
Economics
Citizenship
Mass Culture
Ethnicity
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Staab (European and German history, London School of Economics and Political Science) relies heavily on public opinion surveys in West Germany and post-1989 East Germany to analyze and measure the changing feelings, beliefs, and attitudes of the populations about who they are. He discusses territory, economics, citizenship, mass culture, and ethnicity. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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