Modern Government

Given the constant changes impacting their societies, Western democracies now face similar challenges in terms of creating a framework that allows policymakers to respond to these challenges. Whether or not they are successful depends on a variety of factors. While institutional criteria and a country's political culture provide guideposts for implementing reform, the use of strategic governance tools to shape reform processes can greatly expand policymakers' room for maneuver.

Focus areas

Optimizing political reform processes

As a result of globalization, Europeanization and the growing complexities stemming from today's information-based society, the background conditions allowing for effective governance within Germany have changed. Given the globe's interdependencies, nation states no longer enjoy the unbridled sovereignty they once did. Nowadays, moreover, democratic governance is less defined within traditional hierarchical structures than it is the outcome of complex negotiating processes between state and nonstate actors.