Federal Republic of Germany
Germany
Population: 82.4 million
 Growth -.044%
 Extremely homogenous ethnically
 Turkish- 2.4% Other- 6.1%
 Life exp: 76 men/ 82 women
 34% Roman Catholic 34%
Protestant 28% Other
 Literacy: 99%
 Federal Republic with 16 Lander
(states)
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Germany: History
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Holy Roman Empire gives way to Prussia
1648: Treaty of Westphalia(360+
entities)
1740-1763: Silesian Wars (Austria’s
Succession)
1804-1815: Napoleonic Wars
1848: Frankfurt Paliment is formed
1871: Germany unified by Prussia,
Bismarck
1905: Schlieffen Plan
1919-33: Weimar Republic (Democracy
fails due to depression, proportional rep.
In Reichstag)
German History (cont.)
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1923:
1933:
1939:
1945:
1949:
1955:
1961:
1989:
1990:
1998:
Reichsmark devalued
Chancellor Hitler comes to power
Hitler invades Poland
Germany surrenders
West Germany formed
NATO member
Berlin Wall erected
Berlin wall falls
Germany Unified
Chancellor Helmut Kohl defeated
Weimar Republic (1919-1933)
Formally known as the Deutsches Reich
 Democatic and republican period
 New consitution written under the German
Reich
 Two goals were:
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– Social protection of working class
– Democratization
Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)
Elected Chancellor in 1933
 Nazi’s eliminated any opposition
 Developed the axis in 1936
 "we shall regain our health only by
eliminating the Jews"
 Surrenders and commits suicide in 1945
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German Unification
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Was thought impossible; political and social
concerns
October 1989--Berlin Wall falls
“Two plus four” Treaty: 1990
October 3, 1990= Unification
5 East German lander added to West Germany,
West German Basic Law applied nationwide
Colonial “Wessis” vs. “Ossis” ignorant
Two Plus Four Treaty
Between Germany, and the 4 major powers in
Germany
 East and West Germany wanted to form a
united democratic state
 Germany must:
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– Keep no more than 370,000 in the army
– East Germany is a Nuclear Weapon Free zone
– All of the Allied powers must loose all power in
country.
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Confirmed national border with Poland
The Executive Branch
Chief of State: Horst Koehler (July 2004)
 5 yr. Term, elected by federal convention
composed of party reps from national and
state Parliaments
 Federal Chancellor: Angela Merkel
(November 2005)
 Cabinet: Cabinet or Bundesminister
(Federal Ministers) appointed by the
president on the recommendation of the
chancellor
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The German Federal President
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Elected by Federal Convention, consisting of
members from Bundestag and equal numbers
of people from state governments
5 yr term, Re-electable only once
Previously seen as “retirement office” or token
reward for service; usually a moderate
Dispute whether President can reject a statute
on substantive constitutional grounds; does
sign all legislation
Ceremonial job, but concludes agreements,
receives ambassadors
Federal President’s Duties
May appoint/dismiss federal judges,
military officers, and federal civil servants
 May dissolve Bundestag either after
“Constructive Vote of No Confidence” or
Chancellor’s request
 Purposes an individual of chancellor which
is elected by the Bundestag
 Mediator of national emergencies
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The German Federal Chancellor
Elected by Bundesrat
 Head of Government, like a PM
 May be subjected to Constructive Vote
of No Confidence
 EX: 1982: Helmut Schmidt replaced by
Helmut Kohl
 Currently Angela Merkel (2005)
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German Cabinet
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Called Bundeskabinett or Bundesregierung
 It consists of the Chancellor and the
cabinet ministers.
 The cabinet ministers have the freedom to
carry out their duties independently but
must follow the Chancellor's directive
 If two ministers disagree on a particular
point, the cabinet resolves the conflict by
majority vote (Kollegialprinzip or principle
of deference).
Bundestag (656+)
Mixed Member-Proportional system; 2 ballots
 Must get 5% on ballot or win 3 districts to get
PR
 “Overhang mandate”--bring in new seats if you
win more districts than overall vote, hurts your
party
 Passes laws, elects Federal Chancellor,
oversight
 Constitutional controversy: Can Chancellor
dissolve Parliament w/o lack of confidence?
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Bundesrat
Bundesrat (69)
 Each lander gets 3 votes; larger states get
up to 6
 Members are from state governments
 Overrepresents small states (Bremeb,
700000 people= 3 seats North Rhine
Westphalia= 18 million, 6 seats)
 Objection to a bill may be overrridden by
proportion in Bundestag (1/2. 2/3)
 President of Bundesrat is the Vice
President of Germany
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A look at Germany’s Greens
Entered Bundestag, 1983
 Out in 1990, back in 1994
 Split over strategy between Realists (no
nukes) and Fundamentalists (do not relent
on environmental issues)
 Part of “Green-Red” coalition
 Former Foreign Minister: Joschka Fischer,
is a Green
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Political Party System in
Germany
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“Two plus one system”
Need to form coalition
1960s: “Grand Coalition” of CDU/SPD
CDU/CSU: Christian Democratic Union and
Christian Social Union: center-right parties
CDU--Christian ideology, called CSU in
Bavaria (Catholic province)
SPD: Social Democratic Party: center-left
party
Greens: Entered coalition with SPD in ‘99
(Joschka Fischer, FM, is a green)
PDS: Ex-Communists
Party funding comes from membership
dues
 The political parties receive free campaign
advertising on public television and radio
stations for European, national, and Land
elections
 Although only 3 to 4 percent of voters
were members of a political party, all the
major parties experienced a decrease in
party membership in the early 1990s,
possibly a result of the increased distrust
of political parties
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The Judiciary
Traditionally: Rechtsstaat (law state).
Sovereign state is impartial.
 Under Basic Law, now uses modified
version called Sozialstaat (judiciary bound
by justice)
 Federal Constitutional court has power of
Judicial Review
 Very prestigious and respected
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How Germany Votes: Parliamentary
Political Culture
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Traditionally lacked Anglo-Saxon liberal democratic
foundations, strong “father state” respected/desired.
Street Democracy” almost expected
Social movements associated with outsiders
2 generations since Hitler, believe that the system
works, positive attitude towards Const., Parl.
Liberalized values: post-materialist values (feminism,
self-development, environmentalism, civic education,
liberal child rearing)
Germans don’t favor equal political role for women
Resurgence of anti-semitism
Political Culture (cont)
Dominated by Social Democratic and
moderate Conservatives
 Divided nationally and militarily due to
WWI and WWII
 East far behind West; ostalgia
 Easterners had guaranteed job, low rent,
now record unemployment, few have
stable political attitude
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German Foreign Policy
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Keep U.S. engaged in European security
Promote European integration
Peace/ Prosperity for Central Europe: Will
be excellent markets for Russia
Russia: Reminds U.S. not to ostracize
Europe
Liberal Trade Policy (70-75% trade is with
France); high trade deficit with Japan)
Commercial interests drive German foreign
policy
More German Foreign Policy
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Germany's foreign policy is oriented towards the aims of
maintaining freedom, peace and prosperity, promoting
democracy, developing respect for human rights all over the
world, fostering sustainable development in all countries of the
southern hemisphere and safeguarding the future of the
global community. Germany's foreign policy on the European
level is focused on deepening and enlarging the European
Union (EU) to become a full-fledged partner in all areas of
global policy as well as on the further development of
partnership-relations with the regions bordering the EU, in the
interest of promoting development and stability.
On the international level, Germany's framework for action in
the sphere of foreign policy will continue to be the further
development of the Atlantic Alliance (NATO) and transatlantic
cooperation as well as the strengthening of international
organizations, above all the United Nations and the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
and the development of a more active and important role for
Germany in these organizations.
German-US Relations
 50%
of German foreign direct
investment goes to the United States
 Sent German troops to Afghanistan to
support American Troops
 Joint NATO members
Learning Objectives
After mastering the concepts presented in this chapter, you will be able to:
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Gain knowledge of the history of the political system, economic
development and statehood formation of Germany in the 20th century.
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Understand the role of Weimar Republic in the history of German
statehood formation.
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Recognize the importance of Basic Law.
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Understand the specifications of the Modell Deutschland.
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Assess the importance of Angela Merkel’s political victory.
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Understand the functionality and the structure of German federal
system.
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Define civil society and political culture of Germany. Recognize the
role of neo-Nazi and radical parties and social protest movements in
Germany. Define faulted society period in German history.
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Understand the impact of Nazi regime and the World War II on the
development of German state in the 20th century.
Learning Objectives
After mastering the concepts presented in this chapter, you will be able to:
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Define the role of political parties in the political process of Germany.
Learn the ideological differences among the following political parties:
CPU, FDP, PDS, SPD, Greens, NASDAP, DDR
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Describe the unique role and the structure of Bundesrat.
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Recognize the specification of German electoral system.
Comparatively analyze the electoral system in Germany while using
few other countries for your comparison.
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Identify the role of German civil service.
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Define the position of the Bundesbank in German economy and
financial sector.
Learning Objectives
After mastering the concepts presented in this chapter, you will be able to:
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Describe the functionality of the Constitutional Court in Germany.
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Recognize the essence of German corporatism, including the
Concerted Action specifications.
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Identify the uniqueness of codetermination in the German economic
system.
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Understand the history and impact of the unification in Germany.
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Comprehend the impact of privatization and denationalization on
economic and political development of the German state, specifically
the East Germany. Define social market economy in Germany.
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Recognize economic, political and social challenges of unification,
including the role of Treuhand.