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.