Book Reviews : The Governance of Berlin. By BRUCE L. R. SMITH. (New York: Carnegie En dowment for International Peace, 1959. International Conciliation, No. 525 [November, 1959], pp. 171-230. $0.35.)

• DOI: 10.1177/106591296001300247
• Date: 01 June 1960
• Author: S. Grover Rich
• Published date: 01 June 1960
• Subject Matter: Articles

556

The

Governance

of

Berlin.

By

BRUCE

L.

R.

SMITH.

(New

York:

Carnegie

En-

dowment

for

International

Peace,

1959.

International

Conciliation,

No.

525

[November,

1959],

pp.

171-230.

$0.35.)

In

the

words

of

Anne

Winslow,

editor-in-chief

of

International

Conciliation,

&dquo;Much

has

been

written

about

the

Berlin

question

as

a

political

issue,

but

the

story

of

how

a

government

was

created,

divided,

and

re-created

has,

until

now,

been

passed

over

almost

in

silence.&dquo;

Thanks

to

Editor

Winslow

and

the

author,

Bruce

L.

R.

Smith,

the

silence

is

now

broken.

Due

to

the

necessary

brevity

of

the

study

(161

pages),

it is

largely

straight

reporting,

factual

and

concise,

with

little

critical

analysis

or

detail.

Briefly,

Mr.

Smith

covers

the

period

of

the

occupation

and

the

Kommandatura

Administra-

tion,

its

breakdown,

and

the

development

of

separate

governments

for

East

and

West

Berlin;

the

legal,

administrative,

and

other

relationships

between

Bonn

and

West

Berlin;

and

the

modus

vivendi

existent

between

the

present

East

and

West

Berlin

governments

regarding

such

matters

as

public

utilities,

social

services,

trade

and

transportation,

and

the

difficult

problem

of

maintaining

law

and

order.

It

is

a

confusing

and

complicated

story.

In

the

author’s

words,

&dquo;More

in-

stances

of

overlapping

governmental

machinery,

conflicting

jurisdiction,

un-

wieldy

adminstration,

and

intricate

co-operative

arrangements

seem

to

exist

in

Berlin

than

in

any

comparable

urban

unit

in

the

world.&dquo;

Yet

it

is

downright

remarkable

that

in

spite

of

all

its

handicaps

a

city

administration

has

emerged

which

is

not

noticeably

inferior

to

that

of

most

large

urban

centers,

and

one

gets

the

impression

that,

if

left

alone,

the

divided

city

can

manage

its

affairs

with

increasing

stability

and

efficiency.

The

author

also

makes

a

succinct

observation

concerning

the

importance

of

the

established

governmental

order

upon

any

diplomatic

effort

to

resolve

the

Berlin

question.

The

ties

of

West

Berlin

to

the

Federal

Republic

and

its

aspira-

tion

to

become

the

capital

city,

East

Berlin’s

integration

with

the

DDR

and

its

position

as

East

Germany’s

capital,

and

finally,

the

deepening

loyalties

and

ex-

pectations

of

those

whose

interests

are

linked

with

the

current

status

quo,

all

stand

as

formidable

roadblocks

to

any

sensible

solution.

A

divided

Berlin

may

not

be

&dquo;here

to

stay,&dquo;

but

reason

alone

will

certainly

not

resolve

the

issue.

University

of

Utah

S.

GROVER

RICH,

JR.

Government

by

Constitution:

The

Political

Systems

of

Democracy.

By

HERBERT

J.

SPIRO.

(New

York:

Random

House,

1959.

Pp.

xv,

496.

$6.75.)

This

book

was

written

primarily

as

a

text

for

undergraduate

courses

in

com-

parative

government.

It

is

an

outstanding

piece

of

work,

in

many

respects

rank-

ing

with

the

classic

contributions

of

Professors

Friedrich

and

Finer.

And

it

co-

gently

refutes

the

widely

held

assumption

that

college

texts

can

be

neither

orig,

inal

nor

penetrating.