Broken Republik

by Chris Reiter, Will Wilkes

'A splendid book by authors who long ago detected Germany's fragility – and aimed at readers who take no pleasure in the sight of its precipitous decline' YANIS VAROUFAKIS

The compelling story of Germany's decline – where it all went wrong and how it could bounce back.

For many years, the post-war recovery of Germany was an inspirational story. All of Europe looked on with admiration and envy as the nation rebuilt and set standards for the rest to follow. Companies such as Mercedes-Benz, Siemens and Bayer rose to become global titans, while the country's political leaders earned respect around the world – even their football teams were the best. Such was its success that when the Berlin Wall fell, it appeared to reunify almost seamlessly. Where Germany led, the rest followed.

But, even at its zenith, there were signs of trouble, with a worrying lack of national identity at its heart. So, when events started to turn against Germany, the whole edifice began to crumble. As political and business leaders benefited from the status quo, they couldn't see the problems heading their way. Volkswagen's emissions fraud tainted its industrial reputation; abandoning nuclear power left the country at the mercy of Russia for its energy needs; and a growing divide between rich and poor stoked international tensions that opened the door to the rise of the far-right AfD party.

Journalists Chris Reiter and Will Wilkes have been reporting for years on the problems the country faces. Germany is not alone in this, but it is singularly ill-equipped to deal with them. Broken Republik is an essential read for anyone who wants to understand Germany's slide towards the brink.

Genres: Germany, Economics, History, Politics, Nonfiction

Paperback

Reviews

[Sascha Döring · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining and informative ride through the many problem areas of crisis-ridden Germany. Absolutely worth a read in that regard. Unfortunately it's often held back by liberal platitudes and lack of analytic clarity especially when it comes to issues such as rearmament, the history of East Germany or social inequality. Here the book often accepts conventional wisdom instead of digging deeper or contends itself with cataloging injustices instead of embedding them in an analysis of social conflict. The sense of a new and liberal minded national solidarity that the authors seem to suggest as a universal cure for Germany's woes speaks more to their well-meaning middle class sensibilities than to the actual problems of a working class that is currently being besieged by austerity politics, de-industrialization and a broad capital offensive against unions.

[Kassy Chesire · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful and compelling look at a nation socially fragmented, technologically stunted, and somewhat lacking an identity. Strained and outdated educational system, ballooning income inequality and minimal socioeconomic mobility set the stage for fear-mongering politicians to point fingers rather than seek proper solutions. Germany has a history of “othering” select groups to place blame for economic woes, and it has found its history hard to reckon with in any meaningful way.

Loved connecting the dots between elements like the stereotypically German obsession with rules, general distrust of others, top-down approach to regulating the German language, and so much more.

[Kash Vazirani · Rating 5 out of 5]

An eye opener about Europe’s most out dated biggest economy

[Pale Fire · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Wake-Up Call for Germany — and the Rest of Us

Broken Republik is a sharp, clear-eyed look at Germany’s unraveling — from bloated bureaucracy to economic complacency. Wilkes and Reiter cut through the noise with reporting that’s both deeply researched and urgent. This isn’t just a diagnosis of one country’s malaise; it’s a warning for all modern democracies sleepwalking into stagnation. A must-read if you care about Europe’s future.

[Conor Siryj · Rating 2 out of 5]

For anyone who is interested in reading about the history of the decisions that led to many of the problems that Germany is facing today, this is a decent book, however the authors unfortunately are journalists, and this leads to the conclusion the books draws to be boring, shallow platitudes.

The book is not shallow when it comes to the historical context. The Russia-Germany relationship is explained fairly, with context given to the impacts of the cold war and being divided in half by nuclear powers on the German political psyche. Some events were brushed over, however it did not feel like things were being ignored to make their point at least.

The author's journalism background also lends some strength. There are sections discussing the culture at major German companies and how their responses to the crises of the 21st century accelerated their decline, and the quotes and insight there is novel and interesting. As well, quotes from insiders to the Schroder and Merkel governments add additional context to some of the history which elevates the book.

However, the book is extremely shallow when it comes to drawing conclusions and recommending a path forward.

I was uncomfortable with how the book characterised the 2010s immigration wave. The author seems to believe that the rise of the far-right and fascist rhetoric in Germany was a natural response to immigration. This is lazy writing, and places the blame on the mere presence of immigrants in a country, rather than either analyzing the history and culture of Germany which breeds this xenophobia, or, the policies and rhetoric of the Merkel government throughout the 2010s.

There is no serious look at the conditions of the working class - The impacts of de-industrialisation in the corporate sector is discussed at length, but the longer history of the destruction of the German working class is handwaived aside as a natural consequence of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, instead of part of a longer trend in Germany.

In short, this book suffers from being written by Bloomberg journalists, and the sort of hollow, navel-gazing liberal rhetoric of that bourgeois publication unfortunately undermines this book.

[Ira · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of this book sounds a bit polemic, and I was afraid it would be shallow - but no. The authors are quite knowledgeable about present-day Germany (and left-leaning, if their ideological stance matters to you). Anyway, especially if you're a foreigner living in Germany and thinking that something is rotten in the state of Denmark, you'll find this book very validating. But if you are a German native it is an even more urgent read.

Here the main current problems of the German state are dissected:
- the absence of a positive uniting agenda and the rise of populism in this vacuum;
- slow adoption of innovations and an aversion to change;
- the rapid growth of economic and social inequality;
- digitalisation issues;
- ineffective federal system;
- failures of educational system;
- self-imposed paperwork hurdles;
- "Das haben wir schon immer so gemacht."

In some aspects, the book is ruthless - the chapter about national character and the us-vs-them mentality hits hard, for example. But it also suggests some very reasonable solutions for the country's crisis (that probably will never be implemented, who am I kidding). The authors are very knowledgeable about German politics and decision-making, and the book was written at the end of 2024, covering basically everything up to the latest election. A very current, poignant, and merciless work.

[Kor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Im on page 85 and I think I am dropping it. I am interested in the topic but the reasoning in the book reads like it wasnt critically proof read by anyone. I am listing a few examples from the last part of the book before I stopped reading, a chapter about gender equality. Mind you I am a women and I care about feminism.
- Promoting DEI hiring practices as a way to achieve gender equality
- criticising the "John doe" of germany for being white
- criticising Angela Merkel for not focusing on gender equality during her reign while she had huge crisies to manage, like the immigration crisis and a collapsing infrastructure
- stating that 50% of all women are working in part time as a bad thing. Why? Its equal? Why would it be ok for men to be the majority instead?

I liked the book initially and it has a lot of good points and fair criticism to share. Germany has problems with bureaucracy, a government system that is designed to be weak for historical reasons and a rise in right wing extremism.
But I cant get along with the sometimes nonsensical reasoning that is being brought forward.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wheras this is an interesting book I had my issues with it. The first couple of chapters only scratched the surface of Germany'a history and left out a lot of details that are vital to where the country is today.

After that it went downhill and make depressing. The house of cards is about to fall. I know I live here and have lived what is going on. Maybe the solutions come at the end of the book. But I started to skim and now I have decided to stop at page 156.

[John Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating & beautifully written