Pols 417: From Weimar to Berlin

Tuesday 15.00-17.00 M 2152

Thursday 12.00-13.00IB

Instructor: Assoc. Prof. Dr.Dilek Office: IB 506

Teaching Assistant:Ziya

Course Description: This course will explore the political history of Germany from 1918 to the present. In the first part of the course, we will analyze the historical and political background of the Weimar Republic, the rise of National Socialism and its consequences, the division of East and West Germany after World War II, the reunification of the ‘two Germanies’ and its consequences for German politics. The second part of the course will focus on political institutions, federal arrangements, parties and voters in Germany. Finally, the course will analyze the long-term impact of post-war immigration on German society and politics.

Course Requirements: Students are expected to attend class regularly, read assigned materials in advance and participate in class discussions. Absences from mid-term exam and quizzes due to serious health problems need to be accounted for by providing reliable documentary support (e.g. certification by the University Health Center). Otherwise, you will definitely have no make-up options!

Grading

Attendance & Participation10%

Quiz (2x)10%

Movie Review(1x) OR Presentation15%

Midterm25% in the week of Oct.31

Final paper40%

All papers need to be uploaded via Turnitin.

!!!ACADEMIC HONESTY !!!

The Department of Political Science and International Relations has the following rules and regulations regarding academic honesty.

  1. Copying work from others or giving and receiving answers/information during exams either in written or oral form constitutes cheating.
  2. Submitting take-home exams and papers of others as your own, using sentences or paragraphs from another author without the proper acknowledgement of the original author, insufficient acknowledgement of the consulted works in the bibliography, all constitute plagiarism. For further guidelines, you can consult http://web.gc.cuny.edu/provost/pdf/AvoidingPlagiarism.pdf
  3. Plagiarism and cheating are serious offenses and will result in:

a)an automatic “F” in the assignment or the exam

b)an oral explanation before the Departmental Ethics Committee

c)losing the opportunity to request and receive any references from the entire faculty

d)losing the opportunity to apply in exchange programs

e)losing the prospects of becoming a student assistant or a graduate assistant in the department.

The students may further be sent to the University Ethics committee or be subject to disciplinary action.

Sept. 19Introduction

Sept. 21Historical Setting

  • Elias, Norbert (1996) The Germans. Columbia University Press: New York, pp. 1-20
  • Smith, Gordon (1986) Democracy in Western Germany. Parties and Politics in the Federal Republic. Aldershot: Gower, pp. 1-43 (Historical Perspectives)
  • Fulbrook, Mary (2002) History of Germany 1918-2000. The Divided Nation.
    (Ch. 2: The Weimar Republic: Origins and Orientations, pp. 15-36)

Sept. 26-28Hitler and the Nazi State

  • Evans, Richard J. (2003) The Coming of the Third Reich. London: Penguin Books
    (Ch. 2: The Failure of Democracy,) pp. 77-154
  • Spielvogel, J. J. (1996)Hitler and Nazi Germany. Prentice Hall(Ch. 2 Hitler and the Emergence of the Nazi Party, 1889-1920) pp.20-40 & (Ch. 5 The Dictator) pp. 122-151
  • Spielvogel, J.J. (1996) (Ch.3The Growth and Victory of Nazism, 1924-1934) pp. 41-80
  • Spielvogel, J.J. (1996) (Ch.4The Nazi State, 1933-1939) pp. 82-115
  • Hamann, B. (2002) Hitler and Vienna: The Truth about his Formative Years, in: Mommsen, H. (ed): The Third Rich Between Vision and Reality. New Perspectives on German History, 1918-1945, pp. 23-37

Oct. 3-5Cooperation vs Resistance: Who were the Nazis?

  • Baldwin, Peter. (1990) Social Interpretations of Nazism: Renewing a Tradition. Journal of Contemporary History 25(1): 5-37
  • Spielvogel, J.J. (1996) (ch.4) Public Opinion and Resistance in the Third Reich, pp. 115-120
  • Bartov, O. (2003) Germany’s War and the Holocaust. Disputed Histories, (‘Ordinary Monsters: Perpetrator Motivation and Monocausal Explanations’, pp.122-138)
  • Mann, Michael (2000) Were the Perpetrators of Genocide ‘Ordinary Men’ or ‘Real Nazis’? Results from Fifteen Hundred Biographies, Holocaust and Genocide Studies 14(3): 331-366

Oct. 10-12Movie Session: Eichmann in Jerusalem

Oct. 17-19ExplaningNational Socialism (I): Totalitarianism and/or Fascism?

  • Sauer, W. (1967) National Socialism: Totalitarianism or Fascism?, The American Historcial Review, Vol. 73, No. 2 (Dec., 1967), pp. 404-424
  • Arendt, Hannah. (1953)Ideology and Terror: A Novel Form of Government. The Review of Politics 15(3): 303-327
  • Griffin, Roger (2004): General Introduction, in: Griffin,R. & M. Feldman (eds) (2004) Fascism. Critical Concepts in Political Science. Volume 1: The Nature of Fascism. London: Routledge, pp. 1-16.
  • Paxton, Robert (1998) The Five Stages of Fascism, The Journal of Modern History 70(1):1-23.
  • Mann, Michael (2004) Fascists. Cambridge University Press (ch.1 A Sociology of Fascist Movements, pp. 1-30)
  • Kershaw, Ian (2004) Hitler and the Uniqueness of Nazism, Journal of Contemporary History 39(2): 239-254

Oct. 24-26Explaining National Socialism (II): Racism and Antisemitism

  • Fredrickson, George M. (2002) Racism. A Short History

(Ch. 2: “The Rise of Modern Racism(s): White Supremacy and Antisemitism in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries” and Ch.3 “Climax and Retreat: Racism in the Twentieth Century”), Princeton University Press.

Oct. 31-Nov. 2Marxist/Neo-Marxist Approaches to Fascism and National Socialism

  • Trotsky, Leon (1933) What is National Socialism (
Löwy, Michael (1976) Marxists and the National Question, New Left Review I/96: 81-100
  • Laclau, Ernesto (1977) Politics and Ideology in Marxist Theory (ch 3: Fascism and Ideology), pp. 81-142.

MIDTERM EXAM

Nov. 7-9‘’Explaining’’ the Holocaust (I)

  • Spielvogel, J.J. (1996) The Holocaust, pp. 265-296
  • M. Mann (1999) The Dark Side of Democracy: The Modern Tradition of Ethnic and Political Cleansing, New Left Review I/235: 18-45
  • Bartov, O. (2003) Germany’s War and the Holocaust. Disputed Histories, pp. 79-98 (‘Killing Space: The Final Solution as Population Policy’)

Nov. 14-16‘’Explaining’’ the Holocaust (II)

  • Bauman, Zygmunt (2008) Modernity and Holocaust. Polity Press, pp. 61-116(Ch. 3-4)
  • Elias, Norbert (1996) The Germans. Cambridge University Press, pp. 301-402 (Ch. IV ‘The Breakdown of Civilization’)

Nov. 21-23Germany after 1945: Division, Democratization and Reunification

  • Fulbrook, M. (2002) History of Germany 1918-2000, pp. 107-137 (1945-1949)
  • Fulbrook, M. (2002) History of Germany 1918-2000, pp. 137-178 (1949-1961)
  • Hirschman, Albert O. (1993) Exit, Voice, and the Fate of the German Republic,
    World Politics 45: 173-202
  • Simon, Green et al. (2012) The Politics of the New Germany. Routledge (Ch.3: Towards German Unity?) pp. 49-71

Nov. 28-30Political Institutions - Federal Arrangements - Germany in the EU

  • Schmidt, Manfred (2007) Political Institutions in the Federal Republic of Germany. Oxford University Press, pp. 9-23 (Ch.1: Against ‘Leviathan’ and ‘Behemoth’: The Anti-Totalitarian Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany)
  • Simon, Green et al. (2012) The Politics of the New Germany. Routledge (ch.4: A Blocked System of Government? & ch. 5: Parties and Voters, pp. 72-114)
  • Schmidt, Manfred (2007) Political Institutions in the Federal Republic of Germany.
    Oxford University Press, pp. 201-235 (Ch.6: Continuity and Discontinuity in the Federal Republic of Germany)
  • Simon, Green et al. (2012) The Politics of the New Germany. Routledge (ch.9: From a Musterknabe to a frustrated Lehrmeister? pp. 72-114)

Dec. 5-7 The Impact of Migration on German Society and Politics

  • Simon, Green et al. (2012) The Politics of the New Germany. Routledge (ch.6: Citizenship and demographics: (Still) a country of immigration?) pp. 115-135
  • Hailbronner, Kay & Anuscheh Farahat (2015) Country Report on Citizenship Law: Germany, Eudo Citizenship Observatory, RSCAS/EUDO-CIT-CR 2015/2

Dec. 12-14 Review Session