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881. Spying on Terrorists: Germany in Comparative Perspective

Author:
A. James McAdams
Publication Date:
08-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
German Politics and Society
Institution:
German Politics and Society Journal
Abstract:
Intelligence and law enforcement agencies in western democracies are turning increasingly to electronic surveillance tools in their efforts to identify and combat new terrorist threats. But this does not mean that they are equally equipped to undertake these measures. As the author shows by comparing surveillance activities in three countries—Great Britain, the United States, and Germany—the Federal Republic's more restrictive legal norms and institutions provide its government with much less freedom of maneuver than its allies.
Topic:
Government, Intelligence, and Law
Political Geography:
Britain, United States, and Germany

882. Germany's Involvement in Extraordinary Renditions and Its Responsibility under International Law

Author:
Laura Tate Kagel
Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
German Politics and Society
Institution:
German Politics and Society Journal
Abstract:
As investigative journalists and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) increasingly uncover the nature and scope of a U.S. government program known for transferring terrorist suspects outside of normal legal and administrative channels, the role of European states has come under scrutiny. To a large degree, these states have erected a “wall of fog,” as a report from the German Institute of Human Rights describes it, blocking access to information that would allow for independent assessments of the human rights implications of the counterterrorism practice known as “extraordinary rendition.”
Topic:
International Law and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, Germany, and Egypt

883. Entertaining Auteurism: Popular Filmmakers Think About Germany

Author:
Margaret McCarthy
Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
German Politics and Society
Institution:
German Politics and Society Journal
Abstract:
German popular filmmakers who participated in the Denk ich an Deutschland series brought a range of conflicting impulses to their meditations on Germany, including the universalizing tendencies of popular culture, together with the personal and political strains often present in documentary films. With varying degrees of success, each director agitates national identity via an idiosyncratic selfhood, a process which in turn expands our notions of Germany beyond generic convention. The best of the five films discussed in this essay—directed by Doris Dörrie, Fatih Akin, Katja von Garnier, Sherry Hormann, and Klaus Lemke—feature their creators' struggle to box themselves out of a larger collective identity. By modeling their own existential Bildung, they chip away at an otherwise implacable German identity and provide a psychic service for Germans potentially more salutary than the way Hollywood films sustain American identity.
Topic:
Civil Society and Arts
Political Geography:
Germany

884. The Denk ich an Deutschland Films of the Two Andreases from the East: Kleinert's Bewildering Berlin and Dresen's Stagnating Uckermark

Author:
Margit Sinka
Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
German Politics and Society
Institution:
German Politics and Society Journal
Abstract:
Launched in 1998 on the eve of the eighth Day of German Unity, the Denk ich an Deutschland television film series was intended to reframe discourses on national identity formation in a positive light through documentaries focused on the present rather than on the dark German past. While Andreas Kleinert's Niemandsland (No Man's Land, 1998) and Andreas Dresen's Herr Wichmann von der CDU (Vote for Henryk!, 2003), the first and last films televised, do center on the present, they highlight dissonances between personal and national concerns. Still, Kleinert deconstructs the dissonances and artificial syntheses he himself invents in order to reveal them as constructs to be reconfigured by viewers. By showing the inability of politicians to bridge the gap between personal and national concerns due to the erosion of their private identities, Dresen also appeals to viewers to initiate needed societal changes themselves.
Topic:
Civil Society, Nationalism, and Arts
Political Geography:
Germany and Berlin

885. The Policies of Ankara and Berlin toward the Bosnian War: A Comparative Analysis

Author:
Birgül Demirtas-Coskun
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:
This study analyses the foreign policies of Turkey and Germany toward the Bosnian War, that took place between 1992-1995, in a comparative perspective. Both states had to face an identity crisis in the wake of the phasing out of the bipolar system. Whilst Turkey, all of a sudden, lost its former status within the Western Bloc, Germany could be reunified in a relatively short period of time. The war in Bosnia took place at the very time when an important discussion was continuing about the new position of these aforementioned countries. In view of traditional International Relations theories Turkey, on the one hand, was expected to focus on its internal problems; Germany, on the other hand, was foreseen to pursue an active foreign policy thanks to the new dynamism acquired by reunification. However, what happened in the case of Bosnia was, in fact, the reverse. The main argument of this study is that one of the main factors shaping the foreign policies of Ankara and Berlin toward Bosnia was the ultimate intention to maintain their former state identities in the new era.
Topic:
Foreign Policy and War
Political Geography:
Bosnia, Turkey, and Germany

886. The Role of Architecture on Urban Revitalisation: The Case of Olympic Arenas in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg

Author:
Gabriel Ahlfeldt and Wolfgang Maennig
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg
Abstract:
This paper investigates socioeconomic impacts of three multifunctional sports arenas situated in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg, Germany. The three arenas were chosen for their potential to contribute to revitalisation of their economically deprived neighbourhoods. We employ a difference-in-differences approach to check for structural breaks in development of land values within areas of potential impact. Our results suggest that arenas emanate positive externalities and apparently have accelerated the process of gentrification going on in Prenzlauer Berg. However, evidence also supports concerns that congestion problems may adversely affect property values, at least when not addressed appropriately during planning.
Topic:
Economics, Architecture, Gentrification, and Stadiums
Political Geography:
Europe, Germany, and Berlin

887. The Impact of Sports Arenas on Land Values: Evidence from Berlin

Author:
Gabriel Ahlfeldt and Wolfgang Maennig
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg
Abstract:
This paper develops a hedonic price model explaining standard land values in Berlin. The model assesses the impact of three multifunc-tional sports arenas situated in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg which were de-signed to improve the attractiveness of their formerly deprived neighbourhoods. Empirical results confirm expectations about the impact of various attributes on land values. Sports arenas have significant positive impacts within a radius of about 3000 meters. The patterns of impact vary, in-dicating that the effective impact depends on how planning authorities address potential countervailing negative externalities.
Topic:
Economics, Sports, and Land
Political Geography:
Europe, Germany, and Berlin

888. Shrinking and Growing Metropolitan Areas - Asymmetric Real Estate Price Reactions?

Author:
Lisa Dust and Wolfgang Maennig
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg
Abstract:
The population of Germany will be one of the first in the western hemisphere to undergo considerable permanent shrinkage. In view of the relatively low elasticities of supply and demand significant negative price reactions might be expected. This work supplements existing studies by estimating real estate prices for single-family homes on the disaggregate level of Germany’s metropolitan areas. It highlights asymmetric price reactions: growth in population numbers has no significant price effects, whereas declining population numbers lead to significant negative price effects.
Topic:
Demographics, Economics, Population, Real Estate, and Price
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany

889. Regional Income and Employment Effects of the 1972 Munich Olympic Summer Games

Author:
Stephanie Jasmand and Wolfgang Maennig
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg
Abstract:
Olympic Games may have impacts on income and employment in the host city, but no ex post study has been carried out for European Olympic host cities to date. The present study closes this gap using the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. The data period examined in this study allows for analysis of long-term effects. In addition, the methodology avoids overestimating the significance of the effects. Finally, we report results for all possible combinations of pre- and post-Olympic periods. The results: income in Olympic regions grew significantly faster than in other German regions. In contrast, no employment effects were identified.
Topic:
History, Employment, Sports, Olympics, and Regional Economy
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany

890. Labour Market Effects of the 2006 Soccer World Cup in Germany

Author:
Florian Hagn and Wolfgang Maennig
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg
Abstract:
This study analyses for the first time on the basis of a multivariate analysis ex post the effects on the jobs market of a soccer World Cup, in this case the 2006 World Cup held in Germany. In addition to three methods already used for other analyses in studies of sporting events, an extended “Difference-in-Difference” estimate is used in order to compare the development of the numbers of unemployed in the 12 World Cup venues with the development of the numbers of unemployed in 62 other German cities. The results demonstrate that in none of the respective match venues did the effect of the sporting event on unemployment differ significantly from zero.
Topic:
Sports, World Cup, Labor Market, Regional Economy, and Stadiums
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany