COMMUNISTS AND DEMOCRATS - DEMOCRATIC ATTITUDES IN THE 2 GERMANIES

German unification has revived earlier scholarly debates about the nat ure of the German political culture and the ability of the nation to r ise above its cultural heritage - now focused on the cultural inherita nce from the German Democratic Republic. This article examines popular support for democratic attitudes as a prerequisite for successful pol itical unification and the development of democracy in a unified Germa ny. Our evidence focuses on a study of democratic attitudes conducted in West Germany and East Germany by the Mannheim Research Unit for Soc ietal Development in early 1990, with supplemental data from more rece nt surveys. We find that East Germans voice support for democratic att itudes that rivals or excels the expression of democratic norms in the West. The correlates of these opinions suggest that democratic norms in the East developed from an on-going process of counter-cultural soc ialization and from judgements about the relative economic strength of the Federal Republic.