Federal Republic of Germany

1. Federal Republic of Germany

2. 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)

3. Germany: History • 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)

4. German History (cont.) • 1923: Reichsmark devalued • 1933: Chancellor Hitler comes to power • 1939: Hitler invades Poland • 1945: Germany surrenders • 1949: West Germany formed • 1955: NATO member • 1961: Berlin Wall erected • 1989: Berlin wall falls • 1990: Germany Unified • 1998: Chancellor Helmut Kohl defeated

5. Weimar Republic (1919-1933) • Formally known as the Deutsches Reich • Democatic and republican period • New consitution written under the German Reich • Two goals were: • Social protection of working class • Democratization

6. 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

7. German Unification • 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

8. 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: • 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. • Confirmed national border with Poland

9. 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

10. The German Federal President • 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

11. 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

12. 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)

13. German Cabinet • 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).

14. 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?

15. 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

16. 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

17. Political Party System in Germany • “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

18. 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

19. 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

20. How Germany Votes: Parliamentary

21. Political Culture • 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

22. 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

23. German Foreign Policy • 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

24. More German Foreign Policy • 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.

25. 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

26. Learning Objectives After mastering the concepts presented in this chapter, you will be able to: • Gain knowledge of the history of the political system, economic development and statehood formation of Germany in the 20th century. • Understand the role of Weimar Republic in the history of German statehood formation. • Recognize the importance of Basic Law. • Understand the specifications of the Modell Deutschland. • Assess the importance of Angela Merkel’s political victory. • Understand the functionality and the structure of German federal system. • 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. • Understand the impact of Nazi regime and the World War II on the development of German state in the 20th century.

27. Learning Objectives After mastering the concepts presented in this chapter, you will be able to: • 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 • Describe the unique role and the structure of Bundesrat. • Recognize the specification of German electoral system. Comparatively analyze the electoral system in Germany while using few other countries for your comparison. • Identify the role of German civil service. • Define the position of the Bundesbank in German economy and financial sector.

28. Learning Objectives After mastering the concepts presented in this chapter, you will be able to: • Describe the functionality of the Constitutional Court in Germany. • Recognize the essence of German corporatism, including the Concerted Action specifications. • Identify the uniqueness of codetermination in the German economic system. • Understand the history and impact of the unification in Germany. • 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. • Recognize economic, political and social challenges of unification, including the role of Treuhand.