Unity Without Equality

Why the East is Still Different
Suhrkamp | Insel
Rights sold to:

Japan (Hakushuisha)

Domestic rights sales: German Audiobook (Lagato)


Unity Without Equality / Ungleich vereint
Why the East is Still Different

Debuted at #1 on the Spiegel bestseller list, with over 80,000 copies sold

After the sensational success of Trigger Points, Steffen Mau offers ways out of political and cultural dead ends, providing plenty of fodder for debate

Winner of the Bavarian Book Prize 2024

In post-unification Germany, there is a truism that the East is “different”. Countless metrics – from average income to demographic markers and even vaccination rates – show that 35 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the former East is indeed still different. This circumstance means that discussions about East Germany and the relationship between East and West are a constant cause of tension in German society. And yet, none of these debates have thus far led to an increased understanding...
Read more
In post-unification Germany, there is a truism that the East is “different”. Countless metrics – from average income to demographic markers and even vaccination rates – show that 35 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the former East is indeed still different. This circumstance means that discussions about East Germany and the relationship between East and West are a constant cause of tension in German society. And yet, none of these debates have thus far led to an increased understanding of the issues. They go around in circles, with one accusation following the other: »You were socialised to obey a dictatorship!« – »You’ve made us economically and symbolically inferior!«

November 2024 marks 35 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. In three recent state elections in the former East, the right-wing Alternative for Germany party has emerged as the strongest party. It is against this backdrop that »Germany’s most sought-after diviner of society« (FAS) has made this nuanced intervention. Steffen Mau addresses some of the more prominent opinions on the topic, arguing against the theory that over time, East Germany will gradually come to resemble the West. Because of the people's experiences in the GDR and during the process of reunification, the East will stay different. Not just economically and politically, but also in terms of their mentality and sense of identity. Given the fact that traditional political parties are less deeply rooted in the former East, Mau argues that we should experiment with alternative forms of democracy, offering people stronger forms of participation, such as citizen’s assemblies. While firmly focussed on the relationship between the two halves of Germany, this book could offer lessons for other countries dealing with growing populist movements and dwindling social cohesion.
»Readers of Mau will gain a better understanding of how the disturbing differences in the electoral habits of East and West Germans have emerged. Anybody who wants to speak about the topic in an informed fashion needs to read this book.« Heinrich August Winkler, Süddeutsche Zeitung

»In a debate that is saturated with resentments, [Mau] has written a text that is entirely devoid of them. And he manages to look at the existing resentments with engaged attention … analysing them to reveal their truth content or the nefarious intentions behind them, but without immediately making accusations – at the end of it all, you feel as if you’ve been freed from a miserable mood.« Tobias Rüther, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung

»Mau writes clearly and strikingly about a complex and explosive topic…« Bettina Baltschev, MDR

»A refreshingly constructive contribution in desperate times.« Cornelius Pollmer, Süddeutsche Zeitung

»Steffen Mau analyses the path of East Germany objectively, soberly, in an almost formidably dispassionate tone … He is not writing history, and certainly not a new one. Rather, he systematically and analytically examines sociocultural indicators and their dynamics. The result is an image of East Germany that, while not new, has rarely been painted with such precision, such clarity, and so convincingly.« Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk
»Readers of Mau will gain a better understanding of how the disturbing differences in the electoral habits of East and West Germans have emerged. Anybody who wants to speak about the topic in an informed fashion needs to read this book.« Heinrich August Winkler, Süddeutsche Zeitung

»In a debate that is saturated with resentments, [Mau] has written a text that is entirely devoid of them. And he manages to look at the existing resentments with engaged attention … analysing...
Read more
2024, 168 pages
Service
Cover (Web)Cover (Print)

DISCOVER

Nachricht
Mau was awarded in the non-fiction category for his book Unity Without Equality.
Nachricht
Mau was awarded in the non-fiction category for his book Unity Without Equality.

DISCOVER

Nachricht
Mau was awarded in the non-fiction category for his book Unity Without Equality.

Persons

Steffen Mau, born in 1968, is professor of Macrosociology at the Humboldt University of Berlin.

Steffen Mau, born in 1968, is professor of Macrosociology at the Humboldt University of Berlin.


OTHER PUBLICATIONS

Lütten Klein
Year of Publication: 2019
Steffen MauYear of Publication: 2019

Steffen Mau grows up in the 1970s in Lütten Klein, a neighbourhood of newly constructed residential buildings in Rostock. When the Berlin Wall falls, he is serving with the National People’s Army,...

Rights sold to:

France (MSH), Japan (Misuzu)

The Metric We
Year of Publication: 2017
Steffen MauYear of Publication: 2017

Whether education, health or consumption: by now, data is gathered on almost every aspect of our personalities and behaviour. Step by step we are becoming a society of stars, scores, likes...

Rights sold to:

English world rights (Polity), Spanish rights/Mexico (UNAM), Chinese simplex rights (Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Press), Czech Republic (Karolinum)


DISCOVER

News
Steffen Mau has been shortlisted for his book Unity without Equality
News
Stephan Thome and Steffen Mau have made the longlist for their books Narrow Waters and Unity without Equality
News
Steffen Mau has made the shortlist of the Bavarian Bookprize 2024 with his book Unity without Equality.