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EN
After 1945 a specific party system emerged in Bavaria, based on the dominance of the Christian Social Union (CSU). The aim of the article is to examine the period preceding the rise of this stable system and to present its elements: Bavarian parliamentary groups. The questions asked in the study concern the reasons for such a significant remodeling of the system in the 1960s and the sources of the political successes of the CSU. The formulated thesis refers to the strategies of the Bavarian Christian Democrats aimed (initially) at obtaining and then maintaining power: the CSU strove to present itself as a regional party with a broad public support by simultaneously highlighting the issues of progress and modernity on the one hand, and tradition and attachment to the homeland, on the other. In order to gain a broader view of Bavaria’s party system in its initial form, the article references the political and economic situation in the country after World War II. The study used the historical-analytical method, and in connection with developing a vision of the future of the Bavarian party system and the place of the CSU in it – the extrapolation method was applied.
EN
The unification resulted in a fundamental change in the geopolitical position of Germany. The Federal Republic has become the largest country in the EU in terms of population (82,8 million in 2017) and due to its total land area (over 357 thousand km²) it ranks number 14 in the list of countries by area. After the unification, the number of countries neighbouring Germany has increased (9), which makes Germany more focused on the development of bilateral relations in its immediate neighbourhood. Germany has become the main beneficiary of the conflict settlement between the East and West, since it is not exposed to the nuclear attack by the hostile power and its allies (the USSR, the Eastern block) yet. To its own benefit, the FRG has lost the status of a border state, as its border does not separate NATO from the Warsaw Pact. It does not separate the EEC from the COMECON either. Germany ceased to be a „training ground” of the cold war. After the Eastern enlargement in 2004 the country ceased to be the border state of the European Union. Furthermore, Germany was able to get unified and to become a sovereign state equal to other European countries in terms of its status. The FRG is not perceived as a revisionist state that denies post-war borders. Post-unification Germany is considered to be a predictable and credible state. Moreover, the country is an active member of alliances and international organizations. After the reunification, the Federal Republic had to redefine its position and role internationally. It has defined itself as a state in the centre of the continent and a bridge between the European East and West. Since 1990 Central Europe, most often identified with the post-communist states situated between Germany and Russia, has become an important point of reference for Germany and direction of pursuing its influence. After the unification Germany declared this region to be the zone of its influence and vital interests. The main goal of Bonn was to make the region stable by supporting the system transformation process and admitting the Visegrad Group member states to NATO and the European Union in the long term. There was a fear that if Germany’s eastern neighbours were not given a real prospect of membership in the Western integration structures they could become a seedbed of unrest and destabilisation. It was assumed that such threats could make an impact on Germany and adversely affect its internal situation. The main motive of the FRG in assuming the role of an advocate of the Central-European states on their way to accession to western alliances was to ensure stabilisation close to its (German) borders. By taking system transformation and accession to the EU and NATO under its patronage, Germany acquired a dominant position in the central part of Europe and thus made countries of the region dependent on it (mostly economically). A number of facts, including immigration crisis and its consequences, opposition of the Visegrad Group countries to the enforced relocation of refugees, the rise of Eurosceptic and anti-German sentiment in these countries, have resulted in a considerable tension in relations between Germany and the Visegrad Group states. Such state of affairs makes the Federal Republic of Germany gradually „turn its back” on the „renegade” Central Europe. A country of the European centre, whose interests were to be east-oriented after the unification, has been heading westward recently. Germany’s approval of the „multi-speed” concept in the EU as well as its endorsement for closer integration based on the euro zone seem to prove that statement.
EN
Book review: Aleksandra Trzcielińska-Polus: Polityka Republiki Federalnej Niemiec wobec imigracji i integracji imigrantów w latach 2015-2020, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Opolskiego, Opole 2021, 240 ss.
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