Comparing the German and Russian systems of government
Comparing the German and Russian systems of government
The following essay will aim to compare the systems of government of Germany and post-communist Russia in terms of their type of legislature, their political executive and their territorial organisation of authority.
When studying the German system of government it is important to realise that the German political system is that of a liberal democracy. In this type of political system all citizens have the right to say what they think about certain government policies and they can vote for whatever political party they want. Therefore freedom of speech and assembly play major roles in everyday political life and the citizens need not worry about any sort of threat to their lives. In a state such as Germany everyone is regarded as equal and this type of political system is largely stable with little or no violence.
In comparison Russia's political system is a federation democracy, in which the Russian population and political parties do have some freedom of speech and assembly but they are set within boundaries. In Russia the government may impose heavy punishment upon citizens who overstep these boundaries. This type of system is somewhere between a liberal democracy and a personal authoritarian regime.
In terms of national legislature Germany has a bicameral parliament (made up of two chambers). These two chambers are the Bundestag (Federal Diet or lower house) and the Bundesrat (Federal Council or upper house). The Bundesrat has 69 members and they are appointed by the State Legislatures whereas, the Bundestag has 656 members who are elected by public representation and serve a 4-year term. They both initiate legislation, and most bills must be approved by both chambers, as well as the executive branch, before becoming law. 'Legislation on issues within the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government, such as international treaties, does not however require Bundesrat approval.'1
The federal government introduces most legislation; when it does so, the Bundesrat reviews the bill and then passes it on to the Bundestag. If a bill originates in the Bundesrat, it is submitted to the Bundestag through the executive branch. If the Bundestag introduces a bill, it is sent first to the Bundesrat and, if approved there, forwarded to the executive. The Joint Conference Committee resolves any differences over legislation between the two legislative chambers. Once the compromise bill that emerges from the conference committee has been approved by a majority in both chambers and by the cabinet, it is signed into law by the federal president and countersigned by the relevant cabinet minister.
The German governmental system is based upon the constitution that was written in 1949. The Basic Law (1949) was created to ensure that the government sovereignty authority is shared between the main federation government and various geographical units as far as legislative, executive and judicial authority are concerned. German legislature is concerned with the component that shares the authority with the federation government and the Lander (i.e. state governments). These two different institutions govern in Germany and thus need co-ordination. There are 16 Lander, each with its own chamber (Land Tag), president and cabinet, these Lander have the ...
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The German governmental system is based upon the constitution that was written in 1949. The Basic Law (1949) was created to ensure that the government sovereignty authority is shared between the main federation government and various geographical units as far as legislative, executive and judicial authority are concerned. German legislature is concerned with the component that shares the authority with the federation government and the Lander (i.e. state governments). These two different institutions govern in Germany and thus need co-ordination. There are 16 Lander, each with its own chamber (Land Tag), president and cabinet, these Lander have the right to legislate on a number of policies, including education, law enforcement and planning to name but a few. The Bundesrat is the institution responsible for representing the 16 Lander, while the Bundestag is the primary legislative body and is obligated to look after routine parliamentary administrative matters.
Similarly, in terms of legislature, the federal assembly of Russia is bicameral (divided into two chambers). The Russian federal assembly is divided into the upper Federation Council and the lower State Duma. As with the German system both chambers hold separate meetings and one of the institutions is more important than the other. The outline of the present parliament was created after President Boris Yeltsin dissolved a hostile legislature in the fall of 1993. A referendum in December of the same year passed a new constitution defining parliament's powers. Before this new constitution in Russia the country was in a time of struggle between the executive and the legislature as both could claim authority. The new constitution increased the president's power and lessened those of the new parliament thus making it a presidential system of government.
In Russia's case it is the State Duma that is similar to Germany's Bundestag and it takes precedence over the Federation Council. The State Duma consists of 450 seats and is elected through two types of mandates. The first is the party-list vote, whereby 225 seats are divided among those parties that can hurdle the 5 percent vote barrier. The other 225 seats are distributed through single-member constituencies on a first-past-the-post basis. Deputies serve a four-year term and are not permitted to hold other types of employment.
The State Duma takes responsibility for passing federal laws (adopted by a majority vote). While most laws submitted by the State Duma do not require the approval of the Federation Council before being sent to the president, occasionally both houses must ratify a law. These include laws on the federal budget and taxes; financial, foreign currency, credit, and customs regulation and money emissions; the ratification or rejection of international treaties; the status and protection of the country's borders; and declarations of war and peace. However, if the law is rejected, committees comprised of representatives of both houses may be set up to make appropriate changes, and the law may go back to the Duma for another vote. The State Duma is a highly influential institution and according to the guidelines set out in the constitution, the Duma's responsibilities include approving the president's choice of prime minister and holding a confidence vote on the government. It also has the right to declare amnesties and begin impeachment proceedings against the president.
The Federation Council, the Federal Assembly's upper chamber, has 178 deputies, two from each of Russia's 89 regions. One of the members is the locally elected executive head; the other is the head of the regional legislature, selected by the elected regional deputies. As with the Bundesrat in Germany The Federation Council is the weaker half of the legislature. However The Federation Council is still vested with considerable authority under the 1993 constitution. Deputies have the power to confirm border changes within the federation, approve the introduction of martial law or a state of emergency by the president and vote on the deployment of Russian armed forces outside of its borders. The federation council is also empowered to schedule presidential elections, impeach the president, approve the appointment of Constitutional and Supreme Court judges and approve or dismiss the General Prosecutor.
In terms of the type of executive both Russia and Germany have a president but they have very different degrees of power. The German president is largely a 'figure head' for greeting foreign ministers and visiting foreign nations whereas in Russia the president has a much more powerful role. Power in Russia is basically divided between the parliament and the president. While in Germany the chancellor leads a cabinet of ministers and the president serves as a ceremonial head of state. The German system of Government is often called a "Kanzlerdemokratie" (a Chancellor's Democracy). 'The Chancellor determines the government's policies and carries out the law. Therefore the Chancellor is the most important figure in German politics.'2
The only political roles played by the Germany president is the appointing or dismissing of officials and the signing of treaties or laws, but these are only done on the say-so of the chancellor. The head of State might be the president in Germany but the Basic Law transfers the majority of the executive authority from the president to the chancellor. The German chancellor must have the majority of the Bundestag before being elected. This therefore makes the position of chancellor a very strong one and confirms the reason why there have only been 6 chancellors since 1949.
Conversely, the president heads Russia's executive branch of the government. The president is elected by popular vote and must receive a majority. In case one candidate does not receive more than 50 percent of the vote, a run-off election is held. The term of office is four years, and one person may only serve for two terms. Under the 1993 constitution the president received broad powers. He controls the Defence and Security Councils and is in charge of the country's foreign policy. It is his responsibility to make laws and get them passed in parliament. The President is also the commander in chief of the armed forces and his role involves the appointing or dismissing of top military commanders as well as declaring martial law or a state of emergency. It is the president along with the Prime Minister who choose the Cabinet and the heads of the three 'power ministries', namely the ministries of defence, interior and foreign affairs. The prime minister is selected by the president but must be approved by the Duma. If the president's choice is rejected however, the chamber can be dissolved by the president and new elections called.
The Russian president, unlike the German counterpart, has strong control over his executive branch. In Germany it is the Chancellor who decides who should be appointed in the German cabinet and then requests the president employ his choices. The only way a Chancellor can be dismissed is if they receive a vote of no confidence from the Bundestag and that is very uncommon. In terms of their executive Germany and Russia are quite different. In Russia the role of the president is one of the most powerful positions in the system of government. Unlike in Germany where the president is much less powerful in terms of decision making and it is in fact the role of the German Chancellor that is similar to that of the Russian President.
When looking at territory in both Germany and Russia it is noticeable that they are both organised and administrated under a federal system of government. The main government divides territory among smaller districts because of the country's size and it makes it easier to manage and disperses power. 'The federal principle is the method of dividing powers so that the general and regional governments are each, within a sphere, co-ordinate and independent'3. The German government sovereign authority is territorial shared between the main federation and the 16 component states (Lander) that I have already mentioned. These 16 political districts are made up of 11 old states and 5 that have been created since the reunion of the East and West.
Likewise, in May 2000 the Russian president Putin divided Russia into 7 federal districts, each encompassing several republics and each headed by a presidential enforcer tasked to maintain the supremacy of federal law. A major difference between the German and Russian federal states is the fact that Germany has a far more stable system of government. Russia on the other hand experienced many federal problems and losing control over its district of Chechnya provides one such example. Russia used military force against Chechnya. This is not very democratic and demonstrates the unstable state of Russia's Government.
In conclusion the system of government in the two countries is different. There is a contrasting executive power between the countries, with Russia's president being very powerful and the German president having very little power. Despite this there are some similarities, for example the way in which the legislative sector of government is split into two chambers. Territorial however, they have both divided themselves into federal districts or states but have experienced various levels of success and go about controlling them in very different ways.
Word Count; 1900
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(http://www.germanculture.com.ua/library/facts/bl_legislature.htm).
2 (http://gbs.okstate.edu/exercises/k11/govern.html)
3 K. C. Wheare, Federal Government, 4th edition, 1963.
