Role Perceptions, Party Cohesion and Political Attitudes of East and West German Parliamentarians Findings from the Jena Parliamentary Survey (2003–4)* MICHAEL EDINGER and LARS VOGEL** Jena University Abstract: This article deals with similarities and differences in the orientations of East and West German MPs more than a decade after the unification of the coun- try. Based on data from the Jena Parliamentary Survey, thus far the largest sur- vey among German parliamentarians, carried out in 2003–4, the paper discusses three hypotheses. While differences between deputies from the East and the West are found to be significant for some dimensions, they are, in general, sub- ordinate to if not derived from the inter-factional differences induced by party competition. In spite of this evident impact of partisanship, German parliamen- tary parties exhibit unexpectedly low levels of party discipline / party unity in their attitudes towards the party and policy preferences. This phenomenon is slightly more pronounced in East Germany than in the West. Viewed against the background of parties as monopolists in the recruitment process and the reward schemes for MPs, this represents the most surprising finding from the survey. Sociologický časopis/Czech Sociological Review, 2005, Vol. 41, No. 3: 375–399 Introduction: German unity as an experiment for parliamentary integration The peaceful autumn revolution of 1989 not only paved the way for German unifi- cation it also led to the rebirth of parliamentary democracy in Eastern Germany af- ter decades of dictatorship. The new parliamentarians from the East German states, though not necessarily complete political novices, were ‘newcomers’ to the world of 375 ** This paper is based on the authors’ involvement in the research project on ‘Representa- tive Elites after Regime Change’ as part of the Sonderforschungsbereich 580 at Jena Univer- sity sponsored by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. The authors would like to thank the two directors of the project, Professors Heinrich Best and Karl Schmitt, for providing them with an inspiring and stimulating academic environment. They would also like to thank Stefan Jahr and Dr. Andreas Hallermann, and also the two anonymous reviewers Sociologický časopis/Czech Sociological Review, for their invaluable comments on an earlier draft of this ar- ticle. ** Direct all correspondence to: Dr. Michael Edinger, Sonderforschungsbereich 580, Friedrich- Schiller-Universität Jena, Carl-Zeiss-Str. 2, D-07743 Jena, e-mail: s6edmi@nds.rz.uni-jena.de; and Lars Vogel, Sonderforschungsbereich 580, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Carl-Zeiss- Str. 2, D-07743 Jena, e-mail: lars_vogel@gmx.net © Sociologický ústav AV ČR, Praha 2005