Abstract
TWO COUNTRIES IN THE WAKE OF A WAR - POLITICAL LEGITIMACY AND THE GERMAN QUESTION
The thesis aims at gaining a deeper understanding of both political legitimacy and the German Question by combining the two components. I found that the aim is best achieved by narrowing political legitimacy down to four central aspects that are simultaneously applicable to the German Question. Aspects with empirical relevance were thus preferred to aspects of purely theoretical value. The German Question is defined by its two constituting elements: a uniform, internal political organization and the accomplishment of national unity. They are reflected in the discussion of East and West German post-war history in light of four aspects of political legitimacy.
The chapters on German post-war history and Jürgen Habermas' account of a legitimation crisis in advanced capitalist states serve as two introductory components for the empirical and the theoretical element respectively. In addition, the overview over German history illustrates how both German states are defined by their place in the international framework in post-war years, due to their exposed geographical location and their historical legacy. In Habermas' writings, a legitimation crisis is triggered, when the state is unable to justify its extended sphere of action by an appropriate underlying set of beliefs. Increased intervention and the breakdown of the traditional value systems occurs with the failure of market mechanisms in advanced capitalism. As will become apparent below, the system of values is the pivotal factor of the thesis.
Turning to the four aspects of political legitimacy, effectiveness and stability are first in line. Together they form an underlying and all-pervading aspect that returns throughout the paper and culminates in the fourth aspect concerning the interaction between individual governments and the system as a whole. The second aspect, self- determination, takes place at three levels. The discussion sets out by taking a closer look at the principle of popular sovereignty, frequently regarded as the most significant legitimizing principle for the internal political organization of a state. The second and third level are closely correlated through their application to the German Question. The sovereignty of the state considers restrictions to self-determination, which in the German case mainly emerge with the division of the German nation after World War II. Furthermore, the relevance of national unity is underlined by the contemporary up-grading of the nation-state that incorporates the achievement of national unity as predominant legitimizing principle today. With the above aspects the two constituting elements of the German Question are covered. However, the coverage is incomplete without taking into account the third aspect, political culture, as the fundamental set of popular attitudes towards the system. The variety of the political culture aspect is reflected in the distinction of six sub-categories: first, economy and its implications for political values; second, a democratic frame of mind that validates formal democratic provisions; third, a feeling of common fate, especially in a national community; fourth, expression and degrees of non-support; fifth, foreign political orientations and Deutschland-politik; and sixth, the role of elites and the educational system. The fourth and final aspect of political legitimacy focuses on how the legitimacy as a whole can be affected by individual government failure.
In the conclusion the central role of political culture as the validating factor of the other aspects is emphasized. Nevertheless, it is essential to keep in my mind that all aspects are mutually dependent and continuously interact. The thesis on political legitimacy and the German Question is rounded off by a look at the new situation and the challenges that the reunified Germany is facing at a domestic and at an international level.