‘Heirs apparent’ in no. 10 and beyond – why career ascendancy patterns matter, and how

In Westminster-style democracies, it is not uncommon for prime ministers to assume office by inheriting the post outside of a general election. Ludger Helms assesses the performance of prime ministers who were previously ‘heirs apparent’ and finds that their prior experience does not tend to lead to success

50 Jahre Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Kontinuität und Wandel des politischen Institutionensystems

Abstract: This paper is dedicated to the study of institutional change in the Federal Republic of Germany. Starting with a somewhat more general overview of different approaches and concepts of studying change of political institutions and institutional systems, the most important developments and different features of institutional change which have occurred in Germany over the last half-century are discussed. As will be revealed in the individual sections, there has been a considerable amountof change within and between German political institutions calling into question common judgements which see the Federal Republic as an 'island of stability' with a set of institutions largely unable to adapt to new challenges.

Konvergenz- und Divergenzaspekte der Parteiensystementwicklung in der Ära der Europäisierung: Ost- und Westeuropa im Vergleich

'Parteiensysteme sind hochgradig dynamische Systeme. In diesem Beitrag geht es um die Rekonstruktion der jüngeren Entwicklungen im westlichen und östlichen Europa, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung Mittelost- bzw. Osteuropas. In einer Reihe von untersuchten Teilbereichen - so etwa in Bezug auf die elektorale Volatilität oder den Organisationsgrad von Parteien - sind moderate Konvergenztrends erkennbar, wobei den jungen Demokratien des Ostens verschiedentlich so etwas wie eine Trendsetter-Rolle zukommt. Die eindeutig ausgeprägten Tendenzen überregionaler Konvergenz sind jedoch begrenzt; das spezifische Struktur- und Funktionsprofil der post-kommunistischen Parteiensysteme ist in beträchtlichen Maße erhalten geblieben. Auch die 'Europäisierung', im Sinne der innenpolitischen Rückwirkungen der europäischen Integration, wirkt kaum als eindeutiger Katalysator einer Überwindung zentraler Unterschiede zwischen Ost und West.' (Autorenreferat)'This article seeks to capture, and compare, the more recent developments at the level of political parties and party systems in Western and Eastern Europe, with a special focus on Central Eastern Europe. With regard to some aspects, such as electoral volatility, moderate dynamics of convergence between West and East can be identified with the Central Eastern European countries assuming the role of an international trendsetter. Overall, however, clear-cut manifestations of convergence have remained scarce and patchy. The specific structural and functional profiles of post-communist party systems have largely persisted. Even the dynamics of 'Europeanization', understood in terms of domestic effects of European integration in European Union member states, have only to a limited extent developed into a catalyst facilitating overcoming the structural differences between East and West.' (author's abstract)

50 Jahre Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Kontinuität und Wandel des politischen Institutionensystems

Der vorliegende Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit einer politologischen Bestandsaufnahme des institutionellen Wandels in den 50 Jahren der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Beginnend mit einem allgemeinen Überblick über die unterschiedlichen Ansätze und Konzepte zu institutionellem Wandel und institutionellen Systemen werden die maßgeblichen Prägefaktoren institutioneller Entwicklung sowie die Eigentümlichkeiten der wichtigsten politischen Institutionen diskutiert. Im Anschluss sollen, unter Berücksichtigung der internen und externen Faktoren des institutionellen Wandels, die wichtigsten Entwicklungslinien des deutschen Institutionensystems umrissen werden. In der Schlussbetrachtung wird eine historische Zwischenbilanz gezogen und ein Ausblick auf zukünftige Reformen geben. (ICB2)'This paper is dedicated to the study of institutional change in the Federal Republic of Germany. Starting with a somewhat more general overview of different approaches and concepts of studying change of political institutions and institutional systems, the most important developments and different features of institutional change which have occurred in Germany over the last half-century are discussed. As will be revealed in the individual sections, there has been a considerable amount of change within and between German political institutions calling into question common judgements which see the Federal Republic as an 'island of stability' with a set of institutions largely unable to adapt to new challenges.' (author's abstract)

The secretion inhibitor Exo2 perturbs trafficking of Shiga toxin between endosomes and the trans-Golgi network

The small-molecule inhibitor Exo2 {4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-(5,6,7,8-tetrahydrol[1]benzothieno[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-yl)hydraz-one benzaldehyde} has been reported to disrupt the Golgi apparatus completely and to stimulate Golgi–ER (endoplasmic reticulum) fusion in mammalian cells, akin to the well-characterized fungal toxin BFA (brefeldin A). It has also been reported that Exo2 does not affect the integrity of the TGN (trans-Golgi network), or the direct retrograde trafficking of the glycolipid-binding cholera toxin from the TGN to the ER lumen. We have examined the effects of BFA and Exo2, and found that both compounds are indistinguishable in their inhibition of anterograde transport and that both reagents significantly disrupt the morphology of the TGN in HeLa and in BS-C-1 cells. However, Exo2, unlike BFA, does not induce tubulation and merging of the TGN and endosomal compartments. Furthermore, and in contrast with its effects on cholera toxin, Exo2 significantly perturbs the delivery of Shiga toxin to the ER. Together, these results suggest that the likely target(s) of Exo2 operate at the level of the TGN, the Golgi and a subset of early endosomes, and thus Exo2 provides a more selective tool than BFA for examining membrane trafficking in mammalian cells

Executive Leadership and the Role of "Veto Players" in the United States and Germany. The Program for the Study of Germany and Europe Working Papers Series 03.2, 2003

In recent comparative works on the constitutional structures of contemporary liberal democracies, the United States and Germany have been grouped together as examples of democratic systems with an exceptionally high degree of “institutional pluralism”. In other typologies both countries have even been classified as “semisovereign democracies”. Whereas such classifications are of some use, especially in the field of public policy research, they fail to pay reasonable attention to the fundamental difference between parliamentary and presidential government that dominated the older literature on comparative political systems. As the comparative assessments offered in this paper suggest, the difference between parliamentary government and presidential government does not only constitute very different conditions of executive leadership in the core executive territory and at the level of executive-legislative relations, but has also a strong impact on the role and performance of the various “veto players” that characterize the political systems of the United States and Germany, and which are at the center of this paper

50 Jahre Bundesrepublik Deutschland – Kontinuität und Wandel des politischen Institutionensystems. 50 years of the Federal Republic of Germany - Continuity and change in the political institutional system. IHS Political Science Series 61, March 1999

This paper is dedicated to the study of institutional change in the Federal Republic of Germany. Starting with a somewhat more general overview of different approaches and concepts of studying change of political institutions and institutional systems, the most important developments and different features of institutional change which have occurred in Germany over the last half-century are discussed. As will be revealed in the individual sections, there has been a considerable amount of change within and between German political institutions calling into question common judgements which see the Federal Republic as an ‘island of stability’ with a set of institutions largely unable to adapt to new challenges

Chancellor Wanted! The 2021 German Chancellor Candidates in Context

The announced farewell of long-term Chancellor Angela Merkel after the 2021 Bundestag election, and the ongoing turmoil in the German party system, have created a precarious and unprecedented situation. For the first time ever, there have been three non-incumbent chancellor candidates competing for the job and the legacy of a departing incumbent. Some of the recent developments, such as the nomination of the first Green chancellor candidate and the rifts within the CDU/CSU over their candidate, were notable in their own right. This early assessment puts these developments into perspective by relating the events of 2021 to historical precedents and key insights of comparative political research.Das angekündigte Ausscheiden Kanzlerin Angela Merkels nach der Bundestagswahl 2021 hat, im Zusammenwirken mit den jüngeren Verwerfungen im deutschen Parteiensystem, zu einer prekären und einzigartigen Situation geführt: Zum ersten Mal überhaupt konkurrieren drei KandidatInnen um die Nachfolge einer ausscheidenden Kandidatin. Die jüngsten Entwicklungen, darunter insbesondere die Nominierung der ersten grünen Kanzlerkandidatin und die schweren Auseinandersetzungen innerhalb der CDU/CSU, waren bereits für sich betrachtet bemerkenswert. Die vorliegende Bestandsaufnahme rückt diese Entwicklungen in Perspektive, indem sie die Vorkommnisse der ersten 150 Tage des Wahljahres 2021 mit historischen Entwicklungen und ausgewählten Befunden aus der Vergleichenden Politikwissenschaft konfrontiert