Klaus von Beyme is a distinguished German political scientist and recipient of the Mattei Dogan Award of Political Science (2012). In honour of his 80th birthday this book addresses political culture, cultural policy, art and politics. The first part on transformation theory analyses: âHistorical Memories in Political Theoriesâ, âHistorical Memory in Nation-Building and the Building of Ethnic Subsystemsâ, âThe Concept of Totalitarianism â A Reassessment After the Breakdown of Soviet Ruleâ, âPolitical Culture â A Concept from Ideological Refutation to Acceptance in the Soviet Social Sciencesâ, âInstitutions and Political Culture in Post-Soviet Russiaâ and âPolitical and Economic Consolidation in Eastern Europe. Evidence from Empirical Dataâ. The second part on cultural policies addresses âWhy is There No Political Science of the Arts?â, âHistorical Memory and the Arts in the Era of the Avantgardes: Archaisme and Passéisme as a âpasséisme of the futureââ, and âCapital-building in Post-war Germanyâ.