Dear Members,

Please find below a call for papers for the second issue of the journal 'Austausch'.  

Austausch is a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary, online journal for German Studies published biannually under the auspices of the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University. Our aim is to bring together postgraduates from different disciplines concerned with German Studies in particular or Germany in a wider sense. The main purpose is to provide postgraduates and early career researchers with a platform for peer-reviewed publications and to establish an academic network, encouraging exchange between students, scholars, and institutions with a shared interest in German Studies.

Throughout the last ten years, Germany has been faced with, and had to respond to, numerous internal and external challenges. In keeping with the interdisciplinary nature of the journal, we invite critical and evaluative abstracts of between 6,000 and 8,000 words, written either in English or German, to address the topic of how Germany has fared in its first ten years of the new millennium.  

Politically, Germany’s first decade saw highs and lows: the second Grand Coalition in post-war German history, the momentous rise to power of Angela Merkel as the first woman Chancellor, fifteen MPs with an ‘immigration background’ and two different federal Presidents entering and leaving office.  Shifting political landscapes at both local and national level emerged: the significant rise of the Green party and Die Linke, the decline of the SPD in the 2009 federal election and the rise of the far-right into state parliaments. Elsewhere, despite cultivating an image for itself in the Nineties as a ‘civilian power’, Germany’s entry into Afghanistan heralded a new phase in German foreign policy. Austausch welcomes reflective or comparative approaches to discussing how party politics has changed over the ten year period.  How has the political system been transformed as a result of volatile voting behaviour? Which paths will Germany’s main parties take in order to win disillusioned voters and retain traditional support bases? Is German foreign policy geared to run on a new course? 

Economically, Germany’s status as Europe’s exporting powerhouse was shaken by the rapid emergence of the BRIC nations and frequent claims that ‘Modell/Standort Deutschland’ was in decline. This posed important questions not only for the viability and direction of the German economic model, but also for the future reform of worldwide economic regulation, particularly in light of the 2008 financial crisis.  

Socially, concerns over Germany’s aging population and declining birth rate were met with an increase in the retirement age and benefits such as Elterngeld.  Tensions in the labour market were mirrored by greater concerns over immigration, with Angela Merkel boldly claiming in October 2010 that multiculturalism had ‘utterly failed’ in Germany. Debates concerning citizenship and integration continuously made headlines as well as finding expression in cultural form via film and literature.  The issues of German unity and collective memory additionally found various manifestations and contestations in autobiographical recollections, visual media and commemorative acts.   

The ‘Noughties’ can also be considered a decade of protests. Welfare and educational reforms brought citizens on to the streets to demonstrate against Hartz IV, the introduction of compulsory student fees in some federal states and the internationalisation process of the German higher education system, which saw increasing numbers of universities replacing the traditional Magister and Diplom with Bachelor and Master degrees.  In the final months of the decade, fierce clashes took place between police and demonstrators of the Stuttgart 21 project.  In which ways have state-citizen relations been altered in Germany over the course of the decade?  How has the Bologna process impacted on the German higher education system and across society as a whole? Is the German social-market economy model showing increasing signs of neo-liberal tendencies?  

Germany ended its first decade of the 21st Century by celebrating twenty years of unity and the fall of the Berlin Wall.  How will Germany continue its path into the next decade?  Can parallels be drawn between Germany and other countries?  These are some of the questions Austausch is seeking to address in this second issue.  

The call addresses postgraduates and scholars from all disciplines. We invite abstracts of 400 to 500 words plus a short indicative bibliography and information about your academic affiliation. Submission deadline is 14.02.2011. Upon acceptance of proposals, submission guidelines will be sent to the contributors. Articles are due 31.05.2011. 

Submissions are encouraged to address but are not limited to the following themes:

•	Germany’s role in the European Union
•	German foreign policy
•	Party politics at local and national level
•	Economic and social transformations 
•	Educational reforms
•	Questions concerning immigration and integration
•	German unity 
•	Historical consciousness and memory 
•	Cultural expressions of contestation and remembrance  

Please send any enquiries or an abstract by February 14 2011 to [log in to unmask]