With the opening of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the unification of 1990 a new German state emerged - the fifth constitutional upheaval and the fourth change of frontiers in this century. This book aims to introduce the reader to the legacy that present-day Germany has inherited from both East and West and from the period before 1945. It looks at the way political life has evolved since the Second World War, tracing the way the political parties, the institutions of government, and social forces have shaped the Germany that we know - and frequently misunderstand - today.