Between Reformstau and Modernisierung: The Reform of German Federalism since Unification Gunther M. Hega Department of Political Science Western Michigan University 1903 W. Michigan Avenue Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5346 E-mail:
[email protected] 1. Draft -- October 22, 2003 Please do not quote without the author’s permission Paper to be presented at the Conference on “Europeanization and Integration” EU Center of the University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, October 24 – 25, 2003 Abstract: Between Reformstau and Modernisierung: The Reform of German Federalism since Unification This paper examines the changes of the German federal system and the role of the 16 states (Länder) in national politics and policy-making in the Federal Republic of Germany since 1990. In particular, the study focuses on the response of the German Federal Council (Bundesrat), the chamber of the national parliament which represents the Länder, to the processes of German unification and European integration in the last decade. The paper starts from the assumption that the Federal Council has been the chief beneficiary among the Federal Republic's political institutions of the trends toward "unitary federalism" at the domestic level and a "federal Europe" at the international level. Due to the evolution of cooperative federalism with its interlocking policies, the changes in the party system and coalition politics, and, in particular, the twin processes of German unification and European integration, the Bundesrat has gained additional, special powers by assuring the inclusion of the "subsidiarity principle" in both the German Constitution (the Basic Law) and the Maastricht Treaty on European Union. The amended Article 23 of the Basic Law and the Maastricht Treaty's Article 3b strengthen the participation of the Federal Council and the 16 German states in national and European policymaking.