Why and How Did Germany Become a Federal State?

                          Political parties were also created, the main parties being the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the Social Democratic Party (SPD). The first federal elections were held in 1949 with the CDU/CSU being the first party to govern the Federal Republic of Germany.

The electoral system in Germany is one of Proportional Representation (PR). This means the % of votes = % of seats. This guarantees parties “true” parliamentary representation and provides effective opposition. PR usually delivers coalition government, which means all political parties are all working together and have to consult each other. Germany also adopted the bicameral system of 2 chambers which means power lies in both chambers.  The electoral system ensures one-party systems are a thing of the past. The electoral system used in the Federal Republic of Germany is similar to the one used in the new Scottish Parliament, in that it is a hybrid (mixture) system using both First Past The Post (FPTP) and PR (Additional Member System AMS and the Party List).  . PR is used in most European countries in electing Government. Many believe a disadvantage of PR is that it may give a better chance for extreme and radical parties to gain representation. This fact is a reason why Germany created the “5% hurdle” to keep the extreme right out of government which it has been successful in doing so far.

                The 16 Lander (16 Federal States) in Germany have their own “sovereignty” through each Land having their own Land Parliament and Land Government. Each of the 16 Land governs themselves through each Land Government and Parliament; legislating, executing and administering their own policies and laws.  

                Federal systems aim to deliver equality in living standards in all Lander and to all German citizens. The main principle is that of “power-sharing”, no body holds all the power; power is distributed to all the 16 Lander. Germany becoming a federal state means that power is technically distributed amongst four levels- EU, Municipal, State and Federal. The principles are held in socialism in which there is no centre, the redistribution of wealth amongst all through the equalisation of the economy in all of the 16 Lander. In each Land the institutions and authorities are close to the citizen and their everyday needs.  Constitutional law is fundamental to the foundations of a federal state and this ensures the powers and responsibilities are distributed through the federal rules stated in the Constitution- “Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany”.

There is both a “horizontal” and “vertical” distribution of power. “Horizontal” meaning power distributed amongst the 3 levels of Government; legislature (Bundestag), executive (Bundesrat + Lander), and the judiciary (Federal Constitutional Court, Judges + Courts, etc).  

                No federal system existed in East Germany also known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR) until 1990. This was because they were under Soviet Communist rule from WWII; in what only existed was a one-party state. This means there were no elections, no party competition and no opposition parties. East Germany stayed under this “dictatorship” and didn’t join the Federal Republic of Germany until unification in 1990. East and West Germany now become one, with the East abandoning their Communist past to join the West and the federal state.    

                How the federal state works in Germany, is a complex question. Just looking at the European Union which is a federal state, shows how difficult it is to understand the workings of a federal system, in that it is difficult to so who is “sovereign”.

The federal state in Germany is based on many principles to make it operate. Firstly, the “republican” principle; both the Lander and the Federation must have a “republican” constitution.

The “democratic” principle is the next principle, which is the foundation of federalism. This principle is built around the German people, in that the people are “sovereign” and have “citizens” democracy. The Constitution gives the people democratic rights; that are established through the Lander that secures the “democratic” principle- decisions are taken as close to the people as possible. The electoral system also secures democracy through proportionately, because the % of votes will be in proportion to the seats and will equal the % of seats.  

 The third principle that is also essential and fundamental to the federal state is the “social-state” principle, which is achieved through social principles in the constitution. This involves social justice and equality to all German citizens or residents, by removing the repressions and discriminations that had existed in Germany’s fascist past and which still exist today in a tiny minority of the extreme right. These discriminations and prejudices have now been removed from social life through equality in German society in education and employment.  

Finally, the fourth principle in federalism is the “rule-of-law” principle. This means the state is “bound” by the constitution and the law. The restriction of a centre power or authority is essential to the many principles of the federal state. (many tragedies were witnessed under the central authoritarian of Hitler and the Nazis). The “rule-of-law” principles are all contained in the constitution- “Basic Law” in which citizens’ personal basic rights are all listed in articles 1-19. The Bundestag and the Bundesrat must always obey and follow the constitution when making legislation and laws; laws will not get passed if they are unconstitutional. The divisions and allocations of power amongst the many levels of government are listed in articles 70-82.  

                How Germany became a federal state, also involves the constitution transferring and allocating powers to both the Federation and the Lander to exercise their individual powers and responsibilities to the German citizens. The 16 Lander in their territory and in their own ways are “sovereign”. The “quality of statehood” in Germany ensures each and every Land keeps their own identity, policies and laws. Thus the Basic Law prohibits any Lands from merging together (Article 79(3)), this upholds federalism and the federal state. It is near impossible to change or alter the constitution or the federal state in Germany; amendments are strictly prohibited. (similar to the US Federal State and Constitution). No amendments are allowed that detract the Landers’ quality of statehood. The federal system means that Germany favours diversity and individuality over uniformity.          

                The creation of the constitution- “Basic Law” is how Germany became a federal state; it contains and lists the principles of a federal state. Article 28 guarantees the “right of self-government” to all Lander, meaning they are free to deal with the affairs and problems of the local community at “grass-roots” level. Without the 16 Lander, Germany’s population is the largest in Europe and would be too immense to govern as one.  

Article 33 of the constitution also guarantees that all German citizens are equal and have the same civil rights and duties. Article 3 ensures that the law is equal and all Germans are equal before the law.

                Germany also became a federal state through the division of power between the Federation and the Lander. Unlike the US model, Germany is based on a strict division of power (stated in the Basic Law) between the Bundestag and the 16 individual Lander, with power being fully and evenly shared and divided between the 16 Lander. This is achieved through the concept and principle that Bundestag legislation is unitary, for the whole of Germany; and that Land legislation is federal, applying only to one specific Land and not governed from the centre. The principle of “Land responsibility” is contained in Article 30 of the Basic Law and states that each Land has power for the method of administering and executing laws.    

Article 70 of the constitution (aka. Basic Law) gives the Lander the right to make laws on matters not listed or catalogued to the Federation. Each Land makes laws and governs by “cultural sovereignty” mainly on education and law and order.

The constitution gives exclusive power to the Bundestag to legislate for uniform national legislation, laws which need to be made at national level for the benefit of the country as a whole (e.g. defence/army, immigration/asylum, currency, etc).

The Federation and the Lander work together for consensus in making legislation and laws, this is known as “joint responsibilities or tasks” (Article 91 a + b).    

                Justice and the judicial power (articles 92-104) in the federal state lies with the judges and courts; the Federal Constitutional Court, federal courts and Land courts. The Federal Constitutional Court is an independent body within the German federal state that gives rulings on conflicts and ensures of consensus between the Lander and the Federation (Article 93). The Constitutional Court is also the “guarantor of the federal state and federal harmony”, it interprets legislation and ensures the legislation does not violate the constitution thus making the legislation unconstitutional, if so the Court will grant it invalid and the legislation will not be passed. The Court also deals with any infringements on the Basic Law and ensures that the constitution is observed and obeyed by all of German society, including the Bundestag, the Bundesrat and the Lander.      

                The federal state principle of “equalisation of standards of living” in each Lander is secured through “concurrent” legislation, legislation coming from both the Bundestag and the Lander in the Bundesrat.

The Lander participates in the EU through the Bundesrat and the administering and execution (implementation) of EU Law-(article 50 of the constitution aka Basic Law) .  The Bundesrat is the link between each Land and the Bundestag. The Bundesrat represents the 16 Lander and represents and expresses each of the Lands; problems, interests, ideas, needs and desires. The number of representatives and votes each Land has in the Bundesrat depends on the size of their population; a Land with a large population will have more representatives and more votes. (Article 52.)  

In the stages of a Bill in Germany, the Bill must first go through the Bundesrat for consent and agreement. The Bundesrat exercises control over the Bundestag through these first stages of a Bill, both must find consensus and agreement to pass laws and legislation.

                The financial, tax and revenue system in the federal state is extremely complex and runs on two main principles. “Horizontal financial equalisation among the Lander”; and the “ vertical financial equalisation between the Federation and the Lander”.   

                This essay has described and explained why and how Germany became a federal state. Why; because of the many German tragedies in history and because of the attractiveness of federalist principles of democracy to the German people after the Second World War. How; through the constitution and the electoral system therefore ensuring democracy to Germany. Germany has done its utmost and could not have done any more to put its past to rest and in ensuring peace and democracy in Europe and the World through their revolutionary changes after 1945.  

While Germany’s speedy transition from murderous dictatorships to one of the strongest democracies in the world is phenomenal and unparalleled by any country in any time, Germany today now faces new troubles in high unemployment, which means their successful and leading economy has started to slump a little. It will be interesting to see how the federal state can deal with these new problems in the modern German society.  

(Word Count: 2217)

Bibliography: -

Federal Republic of Germany, (1949), “Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany.”     /aka/ the Constitution.  (Germany : The Parliamentary Council and the Press and Information Office)

Russell L. Mathews, (1980),  “Federalism in Australia and the Federal Republic of Germany”,  (Canberra, Australia  :  The Australian National University Press and the  National Library of Australia)

Klaus Michael Miebach and Dr. Gisela Libal ed.,(1997),“Federalism in Germany”.   BASIC-INFO. IN-PRESS” (Bonn : Inter Nationes).

David P. Conradt, (2001), “The German Polity. 7th Ed.” (USA : Addison-Wesley LONGMAN, Inc.)

Dr. Wolfgang Rudig, (2001) “German Politics (35 225) Lectures, Tutorials and Notes” (Strathclyde University, Glasgow : Department of Government)

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