STEFFEM MAU, UNGLEICH VEREINT: WARUM DER OSTEN ANDERS BLEIBT [UNEQUALLY UNITED: WHY THE EAST WILL REMAIN DIFFERENT], 2024.
Droves of joyful people overran the Berlin Wall in November 1989, ending the physical separation of East-Germany, the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), from the much larger West-Germany, the Federal Republic of Germany. Supported by a majority in both parts of the country, reunification was negotiated and legally accomplished within only eleven months. The GDR acceded to the constitutional system of West-Germany, accepting and implementing a complex institutional setup. At that time, many thought that this was the best course of action. It guaranteed stability. Yet it also marginalised the grass-roots movement that had helped to defeat communist rule in East-Germany.
Steffen Mau’s excellent monograph describes how the socialist past and socio-economic consequences of the post-1990 transformation are shaping today’s reality in the eastern part of Germany. Following a brief introduction, the author details in seven chapters the factors that formed east-German identity and continue to influence the political discourse in the reunited country.
Chapter one shows that, contrary to expectations, after a transitional phase societal and political structures in the east do not mirror those in the west. Instead, the transformation process led to the emergence of a distinct east-German identity, as chapter four aptly explains. Shared socio-economic hardships of the transformation period rather than the suppression under the GDR regime fostered the distinct east-German mentality and identity.
Young people in particular tend to consider themselves as “east-German.” When faced with the challenges of the post-1990 transformation process, they did not critically assess their families’ experiences under the GDR’s dictatorial rule, as chapter three discusses.
The author also points to deficits in democratic habits that mainly resulted from the abrupt end of the east-German democratisation movement when the socio-economic transformation process began. For a brief moment, the revolution in the GDR questioned all institutions. Then, west-German institutions became the standard, implemented in a depoliticised environment, as chapter two shows. Chapter seven tries to offer some recommendations to strengthen democracy, for instance, the use of citizens’ councils to solve local and regional problems.
Although this book discusses the specific situation of the reunited Germany, it is also interesting for readers who want to learn more about eastern Europe and the outcomes of the transformation process that led to the accession of these post-socialist countries to the EU. Chapters five and six of the book show that a transformation process, which does not result in an alignment of eastern and western societal, cultural, and demographic circumstances, will cause serious long-term problems that can form a danger to democracy. Thus, this concise and well-researched book also provides valuable insights for understanding the post-transformation predicaments that currently affect EU governance. No doubt, sociological findings are helpful when political debates are fraught with disappointments.