ABSTRACT
The German Greens (Die Grünen)1 were neither the first green party, nor the first to be represented in parliament. Nevertheless, electoral successes moved them with breathtaking speed across the threshold of relevance to power in a major European country. Their early visibility brought ‘paradigmatic’ status among the new international family of green parties. Although the Greens’ benefited from atypical historical circumstances (Frankland and Schoonmaker 1992, 15-37) and a favourable political opportunity structure (Kitschelt 1986, 57-83), their programme, organization and activism have been emulated far beyond Germany. Yet the Greens have hardly been a static model. Despite their founders’ intentions, the Greens soon began drifting away from amateuractivism. The purpose of this chapter is to consider how and why the Greens were ‘transformed’ and the implications. We shall begin by reviewing their historical origins and development.
