GERMAN FEDERALISM - PowerPoint Presentation

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GERMAN

FEDERALISM

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ORIGINS OF GERMAN FEDERALISMDIFFERENTIATION CRITERIA COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM

HISTORY & REFORMSIMPLICATIONS FOR GERMAN POLITICS

STRUCTURE

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ORIGINS OF

GERMAN

FEDERALISM

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The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation already composed of a large number of sovereign territorial states

Tasks of former imperial circles similar to those of states 

”Peacekeeping" (internal security and justice)

Implementation of imperial laws (like today’s states implement federal laws).

After the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, 36 German principalities

joined together in the

Confederation of the Rhine

under the protectorate

of the French Emperor Napoleon I. 

In 1815, after Napoleon's military defeat, the Confederation of the Rhine

was replaced by the

German Confederation.

However, both the Confederation of the Rhine and the German Confederation were not federal states like Germany today, but confederations of states.

ORIGINS – HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE

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The

first draft for federalism

in the modern sense emerged in Germany after the March Revolution of 1848

The National Assembly in the

Paulskirche in Frankfurt adopted a constitution that reconciled the principles of democracy and the participation of the federal states in imperial politics The imperial constitution was recognised by 28 individual statesFailed due to the refusal of the Prussian King Frederick William IV to accept his election as hereditary head of stateThe policy of unifying Germany subsequently pursued by Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck once again gave precedence to the confederation of states over federalism The Empire was a confederation of states which, unlike today's German federalism, required the federal states to act together primarily only in matters of external and internal security (unification of law)Governing thus meant diplomatic negotiation with the federal statesIn the empire, state autonomy was synonymous with a lack of democracy and with little efficient governance The constitution provided for a Federal Council to represent the federal states at the imperial levelBut the diversity in the German Empire was not based on the democratic formation of will. Rather, it was based on the different interests of the ruling aristocratic heads of state in the territorial states, who had acquired their position of power through a succession

ORIGINS – PAULSKIRCHE & EMPIRE

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After the end of the Empire, the striving for a democratic social order was combined with the desire for a more centrally organised and decision-making state

Thus the Weimar Republic became a

decentralised unitary state

Federalism was no longer a principle of the sovereignty of the constituent states

The Weimar Republic was no longer conceived in terms of the Länder, but rather as a wholeThe Länder, which had emerged from the states of the Empire, had their competences significantly curtailed and became financially dependent on the Reich The Imperial Council, as the representative of the constituent states, lost the prominent position that the Federal Council had still held in the EmpirePrussia's dominant role in the Imperial Council, however, remained de facto, despite the distribution of half of its votes to representatives of the Prussian provincesNewly introduced was the practice (still valid today) of national legislation being carried out almost exclusively by federal state authorities. With the end of Weimarer Republic in 1933, the National Socialist dictatorship created a totalitarian and centralised unitary state and the Federal States and the Reichsrat were dissolved as political institutions

ORIGINS – WEIMAR REPUBLIC & NS-REGIME

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After the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht and the occupation of the country by the victorious Allied powers in 1945, the question arose as to what a new democratic structure in Germany might look like.

The first preliminary decision for a revival of federalism resulted from the fact that the Länder were first re-established before two new German states were created under the direction of the Allies.

The occupation zones of the victorious powers carried more weight than historical references.

This is how "hyphen" states such as Rhineland-Palatinate or North Rhine-Westphalia came into being.

In eastern Germany, in the Soviet Occupation Zone (SBZ), five new Länder were also initially founded, which were roughly identical to the Länder in eastern Germany today (excluding Berlin).

The Allies appointed the first minister-presidents in the Länder.

After the first state elections in 1946, the heads of the state governments were again

elected by the state parliaments and thus had democratic legitimacy.

ORIGINS – GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC (GDR)

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On 6 and 7 June 1947, the first and only all-German conference of minister-presidents took place in Munich.

Prime ministers of the Soviet occupation zone demanded to put central German government on agenda

Heads of the western Länder wanted to discuss economic cooperation.

In 1949, Germany was divided and two German states were founded.

In the GDR, which emerged from the SBZ, the Länder existed only until 1952.

They were replaced by 14 districts with administrative responsibilities. In the GDR, "democratic centralism" was the guiding principle, i.e. the management of state and society from a political centre in East Berlin and the subordination of local administrations. In this way, the sole rule of the state party SED, which controlled all levels of the state dictatorially, was to be strengthened. Federalism in East Germany thus disappeared.

ORIGINS – GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC (GDR)

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In West Germany, on the other hand, the decisive role of the Länder remained.

Their parliaments, with the exception of Bavaria, all ratified the Basic Law, which was solemnly promulgated and signed in Bonn on 23 May 1949, came into force on the same day and established the Federal Republic of Germany.

Federalism in the Federal Republic of Germany was not only created as a democratic alternative to the National Socialist unitary state and in the tradition of German history.

It was also named by the Western Allies as a prerequisite for the new start of the state in West Germany, i.e. it was explicitly prescribed for the Constituent Assembly (Parliamentary Council) as the central building block of the democratic order.

The first of the "Frankfurt Documents" stated: "The Constituent Assembly will draw up a democratic constitution which will create for the participating Länder a form of government of the federalist type best suited to finally restore the presently torn German unity and which will protect the rights of the participating Länder, create an appropriate central authority and contain the guarantees of individual freedoms and rights."

ORIGINS – WEST-GERMANY

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DIFFERENTIATION CRITERIA

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A fu

rt

her criterion for differentiation is the structure of the competences of the political levels. 

Symmetrical federalism

If all member states are treated equally under constitutional law

Asymmetrical federalism

Example: Spain (although no formal federal constitution) with considerable differences in competences between the individual autonomous communities. 

The Basque Country, Catalonia and Galicia (the "historical regions") have considerably more extensive powers than the other regions. 

Intended to take account of the regional wishes for self-determination and to ensure that the regions striving for independence remain integrated

DIFFERENTIATION CRITERIA

Forms of federalism can be divided according to whether they are oriented towards...

Social differentiation

necessary when society has strongly diverging interests that are to be kept together

Social concordance (unification)

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DIFFERENTIATION CRITERIA

Another criterion for distinguishing federal systems is the way they organise the domestic interaction between the federal government and the states: 

Parallel institutions (

Dual federalism

) 

Parallel institutions of the executive, legislative and judiciary at the level of the Federation and the constituent states

Clear separation of tasks between the Federation and the Länder. 

Each political level assumes certain tasks which it is responsible for fulfilling (e.g. own tax revenues and spending sovereignty)

Primarily when a diverse regional, social and political development is a priority for the respective federal order

or…

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COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM

„… refers to a political practice between the federal government and the constituent states of a federal state to support each other in the respective fulfilment of tasks, to make agreements and usually to decide in agreement with each other.“

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COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM

Focus on cooperation and increased efficiency of state action through agreements and negotiation

Cooperation can extend to cooperation between the constituent states or become effective through the participation of the constituent states in federal legislation

Through the Bundesrat, the Länder participate in the legislation and administration of the Federation and in matters of the European Union (Article 50 of the Basic Law)

They also have equal rights with the Federation in the election of federal bodies (e.g. Federal President and Federal Constitutional Court)

From the outset, German federalism was conceived as a

cooperative federalism

Already evident from the fact that the Federation is responsible for most of the legislation while the Länder bear most of the responsibility for implementing the laws

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COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM

Over the decades, the Federation and the Länder have worked ever more closely due to growth of state tasks.

Welfare state was gradually expanded

New policy areas were added

For Germany, cooperative federalism has developed in the direction of

policy interdependence

The concept of policy interdependence goes beyond the concept of cooperation in that here the joint responsibility of the Federation and the Länder for the majority of state revenue (tax policy) and state tasks as well as state debt is laid down and constitutionally secured

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HISTORY & REFORMS

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HISTORY & REFORMS

Tax Reform 1955

:

Largely eliminated the separation of tax sources for federal, state and local governments

Federalism Reform 1969

:

Most important financial and economic policy decisions in German politics under the joint responsibility of the Federation and the Länder.

Federal government has power to oblige the Länder to pursue a uniform economic and budgetary policy

Länder have received more far-reaching rights of approval via the Bundesrat

Results in a further strengthening of cooperative federalism

Losers in this reshaping of decision-making structures are the state parliaments (function as legislators)

The Federation and the Länder are obliged to jointly plan, decide and finance tasks

The reason for this reform in 1969 was the desire to avoid economic crises in the future through joint action.

Federalism Reform 1994

:Reform after German reunification (introduce conditions for new Länder to participate equally)

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Federalism Reform I (2006):

In the Federalism Reform I, a total of 25 amendments to the Basic Law were adopted.

Core of reform: reduce the proportion of federal laws for which the Bundesrat had to give its consent

Länder were given the option of regulating administrative procedures and the establishment of authorities (previously regulated by federal law and required the consent of the Bundesrat)

So-called framework laws of the Federation were abolished.

The corresponding regulations were divided between the federal government and the Länder.

Some competences that were previously regulated by the framework laws now fall to

concurrent legislation

, i.e. Länder can only enact laws if there are no other regulations at federal level

In addition, since

Federalism Reform I

, so-called

deviation legislation

has applied to some areas.In certain cases, the Länder can enact different regulations than the federal government, i.e. the rule "federal law breaks Land law" is no longer in force here.

HISTORY & REFORMS

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Federalism Reform II (2009):

The Federalism Reform II focused on the federal-state financial relationship.

Preparation of this reform overlapped with the European economic, financial and debt crisis, the focus of the substantive work shifted to the establishment of a German "

debt brake

"

Other issues were:

Consolidation Pact

Poorer countries are to be supported in reducing their old debts with 800 million euros annually

Early warning system

Stability Council is to monitor the budgetary behaviour of the Federation and the Länder

Fiscal autonomy

Administration

HISTORY & REFORMS

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IMPACT ON GERMAN POLITICS

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IMPACT ON GERMAN POLITICS

Regional Parties 

Many regional parties which advocate for varying degrees of autonomy exist in Germany. With the

exception of

the CSU however these parties are only represented within Landtags. Examples of these include:

CSU & BP (Bavaria)

SSW (South Schleswig)

BVB (Brandenburg)

DIE FRANKEN (Franconia)

Regional Differences within a legal settings 

German federalism allows of the respective states to dictate laws, policies and regulations on a state level within certain domains, allowing for local autonomy and regional decision making. 

Education is a contentious topic, as there is a widening gap between the 16 states in results, with each state being able to dictate it's curriculum. In 2018 Saxony was ranked the highest, with Thuringia and Bavaria following. Westphalia ranked last. 

The Covid pandemic implemented a slew of issues surrounding the maintenance of lockdown rules within different states. This created issues in both to maintain and implementing coherent policies to deal with the pandemic and resulted in confusion as well as a delay in the response time on the federal level 

Holidays, an aspect of labour laws vary by state, with some states enjoying state holidays, such as Women's Day being a state holiday in Berlin, yet nowhere else in Germany. 

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IMPACT ON GERMAN POLITICS

Advantages 

The Distribution of Power

A federalist system allows for better balance of power within the country, as the vying for power by different states keep others in check form gaining too much influence

Preservation of local culture and customs 

The regionalism afforded by federalism allows for the local focusing on the development and maintenance of respective cultures. The maintenance of the ability to celebrate festivals with state holidays such as Assumption Day (Aug 15th) in Bavaria and the Saarland, while other non-celebrating regions continue without one.

Greater Proximity of Power to citizens 

The additional layer of government allows citizens to be more involved with the political systems of their respective states and consequently allows for better representation of the local population 

Allows for experimentation of policies on a state level 

The ability to roll forwards policies on a regional level allows either the solving of regional issues or to act as a testing group for federal implementations later on. This is most commonly seen within green energy incentives such as home-based solar panels.  

Inter-state competition 

Proponents of German federalism claim that the system allows for natural and healthy completion between states that result in better policy outcomes and more efficient budget allocation, as it is more difficult to secure funding 

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IMPACT ON GERMAN POLITICS

Disadvantages 

The Distribution of Power

Political 

preponderance emerges, with smaller states possessing a disproportional amount of power (per capita) in comparison to other, larger states 

Inefficient executive power 

Many complain to the inability for state Landtags to quickly respond to developing situations such as the COVID pandemic. Also

Landtags

have been accused to slowing down federal politics and approval is needed on an additional level in certain laws and regulations.

Frequent Elections and

Campaigns and Low Interest

Additional layer of Landtag election increases the amount of political campaigning subjected onto German citizens, who historically have low turnouts ( Only 60% in the 

Saxony-Anhalt state election

in 2021 compared to 76% at the state level) for state level elections anyhow. These elections come with high opportunity costs.

An Expensive System 

The Maintenace of 16 separate Langtags, with the associated supportive frameworks and administrative centres heavily increase the costs per citizen in administration in comparation to other European countries which do not employ a federal system. 

There is a need for fiscal equalization between the states that creates economic tensions, between the 'freeloading' poorer states and wealthier states. 

There is at times a lack of clarity between the financing of policies, with the federal legal approving of policy that later has to be finance by the state budgets.

Federalism also supports economically non-viable states, as the Federal level budget frequently convers surplus costs, especially of the German city states. 

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IMPACT ON GERMAN POLITICS

16 States No More?

There has been active efforts by certain critics of the system to reduce the amount and scope of the states. For example: 

In 2003 Brandeburg MP

Matthias Platzeck called for the merger of 

Brandeburg, Berlin and 

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Bremen and Lower Saxony are another commonly suggested one

As is 

Schleswig-Holstein with Lower Saxony 

And Hamburg with either 

Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern or Lower Saxony 

So more radical views even suggest a merger of all 5 North German states into one, reminiscent of the North German Federation 

In the South there have been suggestions of the Saarland joining 

Rhineland-Palatinate 

In the East there had been similar suggestions with the mergers of Thuringia and Saxony 

In October of 2014 Saarland's PM 

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer suggested the merger of many of the states in order to relive the burdens carried by poorer states. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer suggested there could only be 6 or 8 states rather than the current 16

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REFERENCES

Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (bpb) , 2021.

Vor 15 Jahren: Bundestag beschließt Föderalismusreform.

[Online]

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https://www.bpb.de/kurz-knapp/hintergrund-aktuell/335750/vor-15-jahren-bundestag-beschliesst-foederalismusreform/

[Accessed 29 April 2022].

Frankfurter Rundschau, 2009.

Die Ergebnisse der Föderalismusreform II.

[Online]

Available at:

https://www.fr.de/politik/ergebnisse-foederalismusreform-11525954.html

[Accessed 29 April 2022].

Margedant, U., 2003. Die Föderalismusdiskussion in Deutschland.

Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte,

Issue B 29-30/2003.

Schubert, K. & Klein, M., 2020.

Das Politiklexikon.

7 ed. Bonn: Dietz.

Sturm, R., 2013. Demokratie als "Leitgedanke" des deutschen Föderalismus.

Information zur politischen Bildung,

Issue 318.

Sturm, R., 2013. Zusammenarbeit im deutschen Föderalismus.

Information zur politischen Bildung,

Issue 318.

Marc Weßeling » German politics explained #8: German Federalism. (2022). Retrieved 3 May 2022, from

https://www.marc-wesseling.de/german-politics-explained-7-german-federalism/

System, G. (2022). Germany: Growing Issues in Education System. Retrieved 3 May 2022, from

https://berlinspectator.com/2018/08/16/germany-growing-issues-in-education-system/

German holidays 2022 & 2023. (2022). Retrieved 3 May 2022, from

https://www.iamexpat.de/expat-info/german-holidays

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