Theorie und Soziologie der politischen Parteien im deutschen Vormärz 1815-1848

Was there a general anti-party sentiment in 19th century German political thought? Philipp Erbentraut argues for a revision of this long-standing prejudice in favour of a more benign view on the Vormärz (pre-March) concept of political parties. In fact, a modern and elaborate theory and sociology of political parties is already to be found on the eve of the 1848 German revolution. Furthermore, the author examines to what extent early party theorists anticipated contemporary debates in political science such as were marked by the catch-word Parteienverdrossenheit (which refers to a crisis of acceptance of parties) or the decline of party membership and voter turnout. He thereby identifies positive attitudes towards the role and performance of political parties among all political camps. The findings are based on an analysis of more than 250 text sources originating from 1815 to 1848.