A View from the Lander: the Evolution of German Federalism in Historical and Comparative Perspective
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A VIEW FROM THE LANDER: THE EVOLUTION OF GERMAN FEDERALISM IN HISTORICAL AND COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE A Thesis· -_ - Presented to the Faculty of the Institute for Regional Analysis and Public Policy Morehead State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Public Administration by Erik Weber April 24, 2009 Accepted by the facu lty of the Institute for Regional Analysis and Public Policy, Morehead State University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Public Administration degree. Date A VIEW FROM 1HE LANDER: 1HE EVOLUTION OF GERMAN FEDERALISM IN A 1-IlSTORICALAND COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE Erik S. Weber, M.P.A. Morehead State University, 2009 Director of Thesis: _;a__ +~"""---'----1,'---W __ ._ C€.f..,.'--='-J},_~~..:,j--/-4 Though it has foundations in many of the same political theoretical writings, German foderalismus has never quite meant the same thing nor functioned in the same way as American federalism. As a result, the German political system has generally been much more unitary than its American counterpart despite both being termed federations. This was especially true in the post-war reconstructed German Federal Republic. Unlike the American system at the same time, the German Federation remained mostly unchanged throughout the 50s, 60s, and 70s. With the fall of the Berlin Wall in I 989 and the subsequent German reunification, though, the country's federal system has been placed under a variety of stresses, which have exacted a toll on the classical German unitary federalism. This thesis seeks to examine the historical evolution of federalism in the German nation, concentrating primarily on the time from the formation of the Federal German Republic through reunification and into pres~nt day. This assessment will concentrate on the tangible effects of institutional reform (and sometimes non-reform) on federal intergovernmental relations, especially from the perspective of the Lander, or states. Several recent attempts, both successful and unsuccessful, at constitutional reform will be considered in light of public policy formulation models especially the multiple streams frameworks. Along the way, comparisons will be drawn to America's own federal system and its evolution through the history of the United States. Assessing these similarities and differences, the thesis closes by drawing some conclusions as to the current state and future direction of the German federal system as we near the twentieth anniversary ofreunification. German federalism, it seems, has been a pragmatic outcome of cultural and historical regionalism applied to political realities throughout history. Evolutions in the German federal design have come on the heels of enormous institutional changes as a result of wars or major regime changes. This did not happen following the German reunification, which has resulted in a stagnation of federal evolution which poses major challenges to the Federal German Republic as it celebrates sixty years of existence. Accepted by: Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................... 6 The German Political System ........................................................................................ 7 The Centrality of the Bundesrat.. ............................................................................ 10 The History of German Federalism ............................................................................. I I The Implications of"Federal" History and Historical Regiona!ism ............................ 16 Modern-day German and the Adoption of Cooperative Federalism ............................ 20 Moving from Cooperative to Competitive Federalism ................................................ 28 De facto Federal Reform ......................................................................................... 33 The Possibility of German Federal Reform ................................................................ .35 Recent reform attempts ........................................................................................... 41 Prognosis for the future ........................................................................................... 54 German Federalism in a Europe of the Regions .......................................................... 55 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 58 Appendix A - Glossary of German terms and, where applicable, their American equivalents ................................................................................................................... 62 Bibliography ................................................................................................................ 63 6 Introduction Germany has a long and varied history. Both the American term federalism and its German counterpart Foderalismus are derived from the Latin wordfoedus, meaning alliance or contract.' Despite shared etymology, and even though it has foundations in many of the same political theoretical writings, Germanfoderalismus has never quite meant the same thing as American federalism. As a result, the German political system has generally been considered much more unitary than its American counterpart despite both governments being termed federations. This unitary character of the German system was especially true in the post-war reconstructed German Federal Republic. Unlike the American system at the same time, the German Federation remained mostly unchanged throughout the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the subsequent German reunification, though, the country's federal system has been placed under a variety of stresses, which have exacted a toll on the preconditions which helped form German unitary federalism in the first place. The result has been an increasing call for reform of the federal system of intergovernmental relations, with some, albeit limited and incremental, success. This thesis seeks to understand the evolution of federalism throughout German history, with a particular emphasis on the past half century. Following a brief Deutscher Bundesrat, "Federalism" [Web site] (Berlin: Deutscher Bundesrat); available from <http://www.bundesrat.de/nn_ 11004/EN/funktionen-en/inhalte/1-Foederalismus-en.html>; accessed 7 April 2009. 7 introduction of the German political system, I will undertake a historical review of development ofGermanfoderalismus, culminating in an assessment of recent reforms ( or attempted reforms, as the case may be) within several major public policy and intergovernmental frameworks, offering finally a prognosis for the future of federal reform as Germany moves further into a federalized Europe. Throughout the thesis, where relevant, comparisons will be drawn to similar and contrasting theories and events in the American federal experience. The German Political System To gain an understanding of the complex German federal system and make any meaningful comparisons of German and American intergovernmental relations, it is first important to have at least a rudimentary understanding of the most important German political institutions, especially vis-a-vis their American counterparts. Germany's government is characterized as a federal parliamentary republican form of government. The Bundesrepublik Deutsch/and, or Federal Republic of Germany embodies many of the same Montesquieuian ideas of the separation of powers that are seen in the American government, with both horizontal and vertical separation of governing powers. At the federal or Bund level power is divided, much like in the U.S., between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. The executive branch consists of the Bundesprasident, or Federal President, who is the primarily ceremonial head of state, elected every five years by 8 the Federal Assembly made up of the Bundestag and state delegates representing the legislatures of the various Lander. The head of government and chief executive is the Bundeskanzler ( or in the current case ofAngela Merkel, the Bundeskanzlerin) or Federal Chancellor and is chosen by Bundestag from among its elected members, much like the prime minister of England. As a parliamentary system, the German legislative branch is made up of two houses, the Bundestag, or Federal Diet, and the Bundesrat, or Federal Council, which are elected differently and provide different representation than the American houses of Congress. While Bundestag is considered a parliament, the method of electing its deputies is classified as a mixed member proportional representation system, attempting to combine the benefits of the straightforward proportional representation system with the those of a first-past-the-post, district-based representation system like in the United States. Approximately half of the deputies are elected by and represent a specific district. Separately, all political parties which receive more than five percent of the national vote are entitled to seat deputies in the Bundestag. After the single-seat constituencies are elected, parties are assigned_ a number of open seats so that when added to the constituency seats wqn in district elections, the total number of seats each party has matches the proportion of the national vote they received. 2 There are 299 single-seat constituencies which ideally make up half of the Bundestag's minimum 498 seats. Because some parties