Zugl.: Bonn, Univ., Diss., Wintersemester 2005/2006

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Potsdam, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 287-293).

This thesis deals with the German political party "Die Linke" (The Left). Die Linke was founded in 2007 by merging two different parties, namely Linkspartei.PDS, which was preceded by the ruling party of the GDR, and WASG, composed of West German activists and former party members of the Social Democratic Party. The opening parts contain definitions of basic terminology and a brief history of parties preceding Die Linke. The following sections deal with how the dual history of the party reflects in its organisation, its program and electorate. The party programs are also used to analyze its key program points and their evolution over time. The party's ideology is also examined. This thesis also deals with the current position of Die Linke within the German party system, in terms of both the voters and election results, and relations with other relevant parties.

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Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This thesis examines a group of German intellectuals and politicians who, during World War I, formulated and proposed a democratic ideology based on their interpretation of the German Enlightenment philosopher Immanuel Kant and integrated his ideas with those of Karl Marx, the father of modern socialism. Their theory was an attempt to legitimize democracy in Germany at a time when democratic reforms came to the forefront of German politics. These thinkers advocated a non-revolutionary foundation for social democracy by emphasizing the role of human reason and agency in the process of democratization. Because they had abandoned the need for revolution, which most early nineteenth-century socialists believed was socialism’s ‘final goal,’ these thinkers were known as revisionists. The revisionists’ primary medium through which they espoused their views of social democracy was the journal Sozialistische Monatshefte, which ran from 1893 until 1933. The timeframe on which this argument focuses is the last two years of World War I, when Germany’s failure achieve a victor’s peace opened new avenues for the center-left of the political spectrum to achieve democratic reform. The revisionists sought to carry forward the process of democratization, and by doing so, reconnected with the ideas of the Enlightenment.

This thesis examines the career of Baldur von Schirach, who headed the National Socialist Students' Union from 1928 to 1931 and the Hitler Youth from 1931 until 1940.