ABSTRACT
As German unification proceeds, the transformation of political and industrial relations institutions in the East as well as the effect of unification on West German institutions will afford an exciting opportunity for researchers in the coming years. This chapter presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book evaluates the success of the institutional transfer in the context of industrial relations at workplace level. Specifically, the focus is on the transfer of the west German workers' interest representation system, trade unions and works councils to the east and the extent to which socialist workplace relations have been transformed by such a transfer. Central to these discussions is an evaluation of whether the (west) German social partnership model between management and worker representatives has been successfully established on east German shopfloors.
