The Changing Structure & Function of Party: The Case of the West German Left

The Greens in West Germany have taken on the role of "fundamental opposition" the SPD performed before it entered the government in 1966. But they have also been able to generate policy initiatives, calculated to meet the demands and pressures of a changing demographic and economic environment, at the same time that they have reawakened citizen interest in the democratic process. Professor Mushaben argues here that even though the "Left" in West German politics does not have the ideological significance it once did, the Greens' performance attests to the continued importance of diverse opposition forces in a liberal democracy.