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In general, the 'mega-trends' represented by, for example, globalisation, the shift to a service economy coupled with high levels of technological change and a long-term shrinkage in the working population all make a more adaptable and skilled workforce in high income countries necessary. The pervasive effects of these mega-trends are often interpreted as suggesting that there is only one optimal institutional configuration to achieve good employment outcomes, which therefore needs to be adopted by all countries. As Britain seems closer to this ideal type than Germany, one would expect a better labour market performance in the former than in the latter, as well as a convergence in labour market policies and outcomes in Germany towards the British model. Taking into account the different starting positions of Germany and Britain, particularly with regard to important differences in monetary policy contexts, the paper evaluates whether and to what extent national public policy patterns are actually converging towards a higher level of flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the 1980s there existed a deep fascination in the UK with what makes Germany successful. This has dissolved somewhat in the last 15 years as Germany has struggled with the challenges of reunification and globalisation. Since 1997 the UK has focused on the drivers of productivity and wealth creation in the interests of closing the 'productivity gap' with the US. In contrast, productivity improvements in Germany have been regarded as something of a 'luxury problem' for policy makers who have had to facilitate systemic change in eastern Germany and adaptation in the old Länder. This paper looks at the systemic adaptation in Germany from a UK perspective and argues that, although structural reform still has some way to go, the endogenous growth drivers of the German economy are strong, and visibly stronger than in the UK. It is argued that commentators and policy makers alike have been ignoring the real issue in the debate about the future of the German economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK and Germany approached the Convention with rather closer positions on many key issues than popular image would have it, developed further common aims during the Convention, and both ended up relatively satisfied with the outcomes. Based on close observation of the Convention proceedings, this article explores this pattern of convergence, commencing with a discussion of the ‘visions’ that Joschka Fischer for Germany and Tony Blair for the UK brought to the debate, and developing the discussion through an analysis of how each government ‘played’ the Convention. Perhaps surprisingly the UK government was more adept at alliance-building, with the lead German representative, Fischer, seen as aloof and outflanked by Franco-German initiatives agreed by the respective heads of government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health policy was one of the central elements of the 'Third Way' reform agenda which the SPD-Green and Labour governments attempted to launch in 1999. At first glance, there were similar challenges for both centre-left governments. Both countries have traditionally organised their health systems with little choice for consumers, because the range of services covered by systems of collective financing is mostly fixed in both countries. Additionally, both systems were based on the assumption that providers are somehow unselfish. As 'Third Way' ideology rejects both the assumptions and the normative basis of those systems, there could have been similar reforms, leading to convergence. However, there have been major obstacles to convergence, and one can even observe some divergence of their strategies and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How may policy convergence between Germany and the United Kingdom come about? This contribution seeks to offer some analytical explanations. It explores the real-world pressures for convergence for two medium-sized powers which are institutionally embedded within the European Union, whilst economically integrated into the global economy. Globalisation and Europeanisation are reviewed as ways of understanding the potential for convergence. However, detailed attention is directed onto the concept of policy transfer for explaining possible convergence. In particular, the discussion presents an institutionalist account of the opportunities for, and constraints upon, transfer between the two states. It argues that policy transfer facilitated by membership of the EU is likely to be the greatest dynamic behind policy convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution considers British and German relations in the context of European foreign and security policy. Beginning with an appraisal of how the relationship functioned during the Cold War, in the form of the 'Stille Allianz', it proceeds by describing how German unification altered the political and geostrategic frameworks of European security. After evaluating the relationship in the late 1990s, a period which saw a certain closeness emerge, the discussion moves on to account for the sharp divergences that transpired in the British and German responses to 9/11, Afghanistan and Iraq. The remainder of the analysis highlights British and German perspectives on a number of key contemporary security issues, including ESDP and EU Neighbourhood policy. The principal conclusion is that, despite similar challenges, British and German starting points and long-term goals tend to differ, rather than converge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution argues that although the UK and Germany have different historical traditions of immigration and integration, which continue to define policy responses in specific areas, recent developments show a distinct convergence in each country's policy goals and adopted policy instruments in this sector. It contends that both endogenous (demographic and skills shortages, integration deficits) and exogenous (influx of asylum seekers, terrorism) variables can be identified for this convergence. It also pinpoints the European Union as a growing source both of convergence and policy coordination in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The essay examines developments within environmental policy making in the United Kingdom and the Federal Republic of Germany and asks: (i) can we identify patterns of convergence and/or divergence between the two countries?; and (ii) to what extent does the European integration process impact upon these patterns? It uses an historical institutionalist framework within which to frame the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introduction considers reasons why public policies might be expected to converge between Britain and Germany, arguing that the inter-related forces of globalisation, Europeanisation, policy transfer (in various guises) and the election of centre-left governance in 1997 and 1998 could be expected to lead to such convergence. It then outlines important reasons why such convergence may not occur, due to the radically different institutional settings, as well as 'path dependence' and the resilience of established institutions all playing a role in continuing divergence in a number of important areas of public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses contributions of William Paterson to German studies in Great Britain. He has emphasized in his studies the topic of foreign policy. Several components of the world that confronted German policy-makers include the Cold War and the divided sovereignty of the West German state. Paterson was involved in the foundation of the Association for the Study of German Politics in 1974.

Parties that win elections - particularly if they win them frequently and convincingly - are never short of admirers. The recent successes of New Labour are a prime example of this. The German SPD initially showed considerable interest in New Labour's programmatic transformation but it was only a matter of months before it began to back away from much of the Blair-inspired 'Neue Mitte' agenda. This contribution analyses some of the reasons for this. It emphasises that even where political parties have ostensibly similar aims and goals, there are clear limits to the amount of convergence that we should expect to see in terms of policy outputs. The SPD has subsequently been 'stretched' between divergent institutional and party-political contexts and even though it is prioritising similar problems and challenges to its British equivalent, it is highly unlikely to come up with similar solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores UK and German positions in the debates on European defence in the Convention on the Future of Europe and in the Intergovernmental Conference that followed. It also has a subsidiary interest in France, and develops a framework for exploring why UK, German and French positions on defence cooperation diverge, but also for plotting how those positions moved significantly towards convergence during the constitutional debate. The move towards more convergent positions is traced through a discussion of Common Foreign and Security Policy, the Petersberg Tasks, the solidarity clause, structured cooperation and the European armaments and strategic research agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trade unions have generally been neglected in the discussion of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and the related neo-liberal restructuring of European social relations of production. This article helps to fill this gap through a comparison of British and German unions' position on EMU and European co-operation. It is demonstrated that there is a split between British transnational production sector unions, which support EMU and Europe-wide co-operation, and British national sector unions, which criticise the deflationary implications of EMU and focus on the national level in their policy-making efforts. In Germany, by contrast, EMU is generally accepted by unions with the exception of the construction workers' union. A division between internationally oriented and nationally oriented sector unions can only be identified in relation to the issue of Europe-wide co-operation, where the former are in favour and the latter reluctant. Importantly, however, unions in both countries strongly criticise neo-liberal economics, whether they support or oppose EMU. This may become the basis for a counter, neo-liberal strategy within the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]