Influences et transferts identitaires, programmatiques et personnels croisés entre le SPD ouest-allemand et le Parti social-démocrate en RDA (SDP/SPD-est)

Abstract

the transnational, cross-border transfers between the two German social democratic parties across the inter-German state border from the summer of 1989 to September 1990. It examines the shifting power relations between these two partners after the fall of the Berlin Wall. As the East German party became more established and influential in its own country, it developed links with it West German counterpart that resulted in a complex interplay of organizational, ideological, and programmatic influences. This article studies the evolution of the social democratic positioning and functioning of the two German parties over the course of the events leading up to their ultimate fusion in September 1990. The analysis of the modalities of this merger has many lessons to offer regarding the social democratic balance of power within the unified country. It shows that the West German social democratic model was largely imposed by force in East Germany, rather than accepted consensually. Conversely, the legacy of the East German party was not entirely absent from the unified SPD.