German Greens
The German Green Party is perhaps the most successful radical movement of the 1980s. This book provides the first in-depth analysis of the movement and the Party — situating both within the context of post-war German history.
Werner Hülsberg traces the political practice of the Greens, the social make-up of their supporters and the fundamental tenets of their political programme. His account of the internal debates and disputes reveals a dynamism which is often ignored by news reporting on the subject.
Hülsberg argues that the Greens offer the Left in Germany a unique opportunity to leave a political ghetto, and calls for a synthesis of ecological ideas with socialism. The important questions raised by the new social movements should, he says, lead to a redefinition of socialist emancipation. The German Greens may represent only a first step in this direction but their challenge to the Left is nevertheless powerful and provocative.
Reviews
This is the most comprehensive account of the German Greens to be published in English. Its incisive analysis captures them, warts and all, in the exciting but anguished process of inventing a new kind of politics. Though the German model of green politics is unique to Germany, we still have much to learn from this challenging study.