Die Bundesrepublik auf Deutschland(The Federal Republic of Germany)

• Historical insights on the modern German state

• German political culture.

• The structure, processes and dynamics of the German political system.

• The German Social Market Economy.

Überblick(Overview)

Auf-einen-Blick• Official Name: Federal Republic of Germany

• Germany is Western Europe’s most populous nation.

• Historically, Germany has been crucial to stability on the European continent.

• It is often described as the archetypal social market economy.

Germany is a consensual parliamentary democracy.

It is federal in structure, with a bicameral legislature that aims for proportional representation within an “additional member” electoral system.

(At-a-Glance)

(Historical Antecedents)

Historische Vorgeschichte

• Germany as disunited territory prior to Bismarck

- Historically, Germany was occupied by a set of tribes that were not united under a common banner though they occupied a common territory.

- Before Bismarck was able to unite most of these tribes, attempts by European powers to conquer German territory was the cause of political instability on the continent.

- It was Bismarck who was able to make the first significantly successful attempt to unite Germany as a nation and power in its own right.

• German Unification

• The Weimar Republic

- Following World War I, the German people established an advanced constitutional democracy.

- This democracy, however, was not able to withstand certain social forces:

~ Political division and ferment between parliamentarians and leftist groups.

~ Prevailing context of an authoritarian political culture.

~ Economic hardship occasioned by the Great Depression.

Historische Vorgeschichte(Historical Antecedents)

• The Cold War and Reunification

- Germany can be seen as a microcosm of the Cold War as the country was divided into two spheres of influence.

- The political economy of each Germany developed in radically different directions.

- Unification at the end of the Cold War presented itself as the significant political undertaking of modern Germany.

~ Divergent socioeconomic profiles imposed severe social costs on integration.

~ In large part, the success of unification has to do with the political will of Germany’s leaders and people.

Historische Vorgeschichte(Historical Antecedents)

Deutsche Politische Kultur• German historical experience belies an orientation

towards nation-building and nationalism.

• The concept of the German Nation is a powerful idea that Germans have rallied around in the past.

• Immediately following World War II, there was some skepticism towards democratic institutions.

• This has been tempered through the years though some remnants of it remain after German unification.

• At present, Germany possesses a largely participant political culture.

(German Political Culture)

Deutsche Politische Kultur• The basic characteristics of modern German political

culture are encapsulated in the overall orientation of the Basic Law.

• Constitutional Patriotism

• Primacy of individual rights and freedoms.

• Emphasis on decentralized decisionmaking.

• Concern towards curbing political extremism and populism.

• Militant democracy

• Acceptance that the use of these freedoms are tied to certain social responsibilities.

(German Political Culture)

Niveaus der Allgemeinen Leitung(Levels of Public Administration)

5.) County-Free Independent Cities

4.) Counties

3.) Administrative Districts

2.) Länder Governments

1.) National (Federal) Government

Federal Constitutional Court

Bundestag

(Federal Assembly)

Chancellor

16 Länder

Bundesrat

(Federal Council)

President

Federal Convention

Electorate

President Chancellor

Bundesrat

(Federal Council)

Bundestag

(Federal Assembly)

16 Länder

Electorate

Head of State Head of Government

Cabinet Selection

Fraktionen CommitteeSystem

Federal Constitutional Court

Das Wahlsystem(The Electoral System)

The German electoral system is a unique hybrid of first-past-the-post and proportional representation.

All German voters get two votes:

• The first (Erststimme) determines which individual candidates will represent specific constitutencies/districts.

• The second (Zweitsimme) determines the total number of seats political parties are entitled to, both on the whole and in addition to those won by individual candidates.

Thus, it is an additional member system:

How many more members will be entitled to represent each political party?

Wie es Funktioniert• The proportion of 2nd ballot votes received by a

party determines the number of seats (ceiling) that party is entitled to in the Bundestag.

- This is computed by a variant of the Hare Quota called the Hare-Niemeyer method.

- This applies only to parties that either gain 5% of the vote or win at least 3 seats in district elections.

• Half the number of seats are contested at the district level by plurality.

- Seats won by party candidates in this way are guaranteed and subtracted from the ceiling computed for the party.

(How it Works)

Wie es Funktioniert• The remaining seats to be filled are determined by

by largest remainders as previously computed.

• Seats are awarded to candidates in the order by which they were listed by their parties.

• It is possible that parties end up with more mandates than their ceilings allow due to having won more districts that party-list votes.

(How it Works)

Über komplikated!

Wahl Dynamik• Split Ticket Voting

• Voters have two ballots and need not vote for the same party on both, giving them greater flexibility of choice.

• Encouraging voters to split the ticket has been a tactic employed by coalition partners.

• “Dual Billing”

• Since parties come up with their party-lists prior to elections, they can field the same candidate as both district and party-list representatives.

• This can be used as a tactic to ensure winning a seat or to compensate for weak district support.

(Electoral Dynamics)

Wahl Dynamik• Threshold: pros and cons

• Pro: the threshold is envisioned as a deterrent against splinter political parties.

• Con: it does result in “wasted votes”.

• Consequences of “overhang” votes

• Negative vote weight

• Disproportionality

(Electoral Dynamics)

Politisch Dynamik• The overall structure of German government creates

an environment averse to partisanship (although it may occur).

• The structure itself does reflect the twin principles of respect for individual choice and community representation.

• Local alignments (i.e. which political parties win at the local level) can have significant political implications at the national level.

• The fraktion system is a means of further strengthening the state’s party system.

(Political Dynamics)

Sozialmarktwirtschaft• Some Characteristics:

• Relatively open to the world (now within the context of the European Union).

• Relatively high and stable wage rate with minimum inequality.

• Premium on savings.

• Operates within the context of an “enabling state” that mitigates the less desirable aspects of economic growth and development.

(Social Market Economy)

Sozialmarktwirtschaft• Institutional Framework:

• Markets are socially regulated and seen as a means to serve public purposes.

• State power to intervene in the market is limited by its structure; however, it does play a supporting role to market activity.

• Indeed, state economic intervention is less the result of dictum and more the product of consensus building and negotiation.

• Firms are viewed as key social institutions and co-determination of labor and management interests exists.

(Social Market Economy)

Sozialmarktwirtschaft• The German state is also a welfare state (which

makes it a Social Market Economy).

• The state has a commitment to social justice and social security as evinced by its welfare policies.

• Welfare policies are the product of tripartite cooperation between the state, beneficiaries and policy benefactors.

(Social Market Economy)

State

Firms and

Employers

Workers and

Other Benefactors

Keine Deutschen wurden im Bilden dieser Darstellung geschädigt.

DasEnde(The End)

(No Germans were harmed in the making of this presentation.)