A Comparative Analysis of the Governments of the United States of America and Germany and their Historical Development

Table of Contents

1 Introduction
1.1 Thesis Statement
1.2 Motivation
1.3 Methodology

2 The governmental system of Germany
2.1 The historical development of the governmental system of Germany
2.2 The political system of Germany
2.2.1 The electoral system of Germany
2.2.2 The party system of Germany

3 The governmental system of the United States of America
3.1 The historical development of the governmental system of the United States of America
3.2 The political system of the United States of America
3.2.1 The electoral system of the United States of America
3.2.2 The party system of the United States of America

5 Conclusion

6 Bibliography

1 Introduction

With the presidential elections in the United States of America just behind us and the “Bundestagswahl” in Germany just ahead of us, the controversies and challenges surrounding both elections warrant a closer look at the similarities and differences of the governmental systems of both countries to gain insights into the future of German and U.S. politics.

1.1 Thesis Statement

Even though the President of the United States of America is more powerful than the German “Bundeskanzler”, the governmental system of Germany is better because the German electoral system is more democratic than that of the United States, and the German people are better represented by the politicians they elect. Particularly, the German executive, which is made up of multiple institutions, is much better than the U.S. executive in the person of a president who has a lot of power and is able to single handily change important laws and rules of the nation.

1.2 Motivation

This Facharbeit about the governmental systems of the United States of America (USA) and Germany is a result of the author’s interest in history and politics in combination with the requirement to select a topic relating to the USA. Furthermore, this topic is really interesting, as there were a lot of negative articles about the U.S. electoral system in the newspapers during the last U.S. presidential elections in November of 2016. The upcoming “Bundestagswahl” in Germany later in 2017^[1] makes the topic even more relevant. This research report will compare the governmental systems of Germany and the USA, their electoral systems, and their historical development. The goal of the essay is to determine the advantages and disadvantages of a presidential system and a parliamentary democracy and to conclude which system is better for the citizens and gives them more political influence.

1.3 Methodology

The research for this Facharbeit is based on books borrowed from the library, interesting newspaper articles and a number of internet sources. The German and American governmental systems and their development have been widely researched, so there is no lack of suitable materials for the topic.

The first sections of this essay will provide an overview of the historical developments of the constitutions and governmental systems of each country, followed by a detailed description of each system. The information presented will mainly be out of books from the library. The following comparison of the political influence of the citizens and the influence of the governmental systems overall will also be based on sources available through the library, as well as on newspaper articles.

2 The governmental system of Germany

2.1 The historical development of the governmental system of Germany

After the end of the Second World War in 1945 and Germany’s capitulation, the country was occupied and controlled by foreign nations^[2]. This was the time when the founding process of today’s “Bundesrepublik Deutschland” started^[3]. The occupying powers had different objectives for their politics in Germany. For instance, exploiting the country through war reparations was the aim of Soviet Union. The Soviet occupied zone of Germany was considered as an extension of the Soviet Union^[4]. The United States of America set democratization and denazification as their goals, while the United Kingdom had economic interests and promoted German self-administration^[5]. France had the target to affiliate their area to their own country and delimitate it from Germany.

To supply the German population with food and re-establish schools and other public institutions, all occupying powers wanted to improve the administrative structure^[6]. Gradually, two different developments occurred in Germany because the western powers had other political interests than the Soviet Union. This eventually resulted in two separate parts being established: The “Bundesrepublik Deutschland” (BRD) as a part of the western alliance system and the “Deutsche Demokratische Republik” (DDR) as part of the Soviet system^[7].

Only the development of the BRD is relevant for the foundation of today´s governmental system of Germany. Because of that this will be shown in the following part of the text.

The BRD went through several developmental periods: The first period was in the 1950s when Germany experienced great economic prosperity^[8]. A liberal and social market economy was made possible by a new constitution and the ambitious reconstruction politics supported by the western powers^[9]. The division of responsibilities between local communes, federal states and a federal government was established^[10] and with the money from the economic success, about three million new flats were built to provide much needed housing for the German population^[11].

The second period lasted from 1960 until 1968. During this time, the reconstruction in Western Germany came to its end^[12]. Now that the basic needs of the people were satisfied, the focus of the population, especially the university students, claimed better participation in the political process. Student protests eventually resulted in a change at the federal government level^[13]. The voters forced the party that had run the country for two decades – the “Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands” - into a grand coalition with the ”Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands”^[14]. Overall, this second period resulted in increasing stability of the BRD as a country^[15].

In the third period, which dates from 1969 until 1982^[16], Germany invested most of its financial resources into improvements of the education system. This included compulsory education and a reform of the secondary education system^[17]. The oil crisis of 1973 caused economic growth to stagnate, which in turn resulted in rising unemployment numbers^[18]. Because the financial resources were depleted, there were no more reforms and Germany had to implement the energy saving law to deal with the energy crisis^[19]. This law initially led to the formation of groups against the establishment^[20], because the German citizens wanted to save the environment and protect themselves from the risk of nuclear power. Eventually, these groups founded a new political party: “Die Grünen”^[21].

After the political system lost some authority in the 1970s, the next period started in 1982 with the new “Bundeskanzler” Helmut Kohl and ended with the German reunification in 1990. Chancellor Kohl reduced the unemployment rate, increased consumer confidence and stabilized the German economy^[22]. In 1989, the eastern part of Germany (DDR) became politically unstable. Mass demonstrations led to the resignation of the SED-government^[23] and after a new travel-law went into effect, the border between East and West Germany was opened on the 9th of November 1989^[24]. In the “Zwei plus Vier”- contract, France, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union agreed upon the reunification of East and West Germany, which officially was on the 3rd of October 1990^[25]. Since then, the combined East and West Germany is also a member of European Union^[26].

2.2 The political system of Germany

The political system of Germany is divided into three levels of government^[27]:

The communes, which are responsible for tasks like garbage service, oversight of building projects, fire prevention, disaster management, local public transport and sewage disposal,^[28] are on the smallest level of the governmental system^[29]. These local governments are responsible for small cities and villages. According to the German constitution, the communes have to manage themselves^[30]. Moreover, they are part of the federal states (“Bundesländer”) of Germany^[31].

On the next level of government there are the federal states^[32]. In Germany there are sixteen federal states and each of them has its own constitution^[33]. The Germans differentiate between the eleven old federal states, which made up the “Bundesrepublik Deutschland” before 1990, and the five new federal states, which made up the territory of the “Deutsche Demokratische Republik” until 1990^[34]. The old federal states are Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein. The new “Bundesländer” are Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia^[35]. Moreover, the state government institutions have various names. For instance, in the city states of Hamburg and Bremen, the state government is called the “Senat”. In Bavaria, the state government is called the “Staatsregierung”^[36]. The heads of state government have different names as well. Bremen and Hamburg are led by the “Präsident des Senats” and Berlin is represented by the “Regierender Bürgermeister”. All other federal states call their head of state the “Ministerpräsident”^[37]. At the state level, only the members of the “Landesparlament” are directly elected by the citizens of each state^[38]. The head of state government, who is elected by the delegates of the “Landtag”,^[39] appoints the ministers^[40] and together they form the state government which is responsible for the state administration and the law-making process.

The highest level of the governmental system of Germany, which is organized as a parliamentary democracy, is the federal government^[41]. The federal government is divided into three branches: The legislative, the executive and the judicial branch^[42]. These have to control each other and are represented by one or more political institutions. For instance, the “Bundestag” is associated with the legislative branch^[43]. This German parliament is the center of the political system at the national level^[44]. Currently, there are 598 lawmakers in the “Bundestag”^[45] and their most important responsibilities include the enacting of new legislation and the monitoring of the federal government. They also exercise control over the federal budget and decide on deployments of the “Bundeswehr” to foreign countries^[46]. Furthermore, the lawmakers are responsible for three important elections: The election of the “Bundeskanzler”, the election of the “Bundespräsident” together with representatives of the “Landesparlamente” and the appointment of judges to the “Verfassungsgericht” together with the members of the “Bundesrat”^[47]. The next election of the “Bundestag” is going to take place on the twenty-fourth of September 2017^[48] and the last election of the “Bundespräsident” took place on the twelfth of February 2017^[49].

Another political institution at the federal level is the “Bundesrat” which is also part of the legislative branch of government. It is called the parliament of “Bundesländerregierungen” because of the fact that all 69 members of the “Bundesrat”^[50] are representatives of the federal state governments of the sixteen “Bundesländer”^[51]. The members of the “Bundesrat” are not elected by the German citizens and the number of representatives of each “Bundesland” depends on its population size^[52]. The “Bundesratspräsident” represents the “Bundesrat”^[53] and the position is currently held by Malu Dreyer, a member of the “Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschland”^[54]. The “Bundesratspräsident” is elected by the members of the “Bundesrat” every year on the first of November^[55].

German legislation is always based on the “Grundgesetzbuch” and is the responsibility of the legislative institutions mentioned above^[56]. Some laws about education, water supply and hunting are made by the “Landtage” at the state level, but all other laws are made by the “Bundestag” and the “Bundesrat” at the national level^[57]. A draft law about new regulations or changes to existing legislation can be suggested by the “Bundesrat”, the “Bundestag”, or the “Bundesregierung”. The “Bundestag” will discuss any new law proposal three times. At the end of the third reading, all members vote on it. To pass a new law, at least 50 percent of the members of the “Bundestag” have to vote in favor of it. Once a law has been passed by the “Bundestag”, the “Bundesrat” also has to pass it before it goes into effect with the signature of the “Bundespräsident”^[58].

The executive branch of government is the political institution of the “Bundesregierung”. It includes the “Bundeskanzlerin”, currently Angela Merkel, and her cabinet of ministers^[59].

A judicial institution is the “Bundesverfassungsgericht” which has to pay attention on compliance with all legislation. If there is a problem between two governmental bodies it will resolve the conflict and in special cases it can forbid the work of a party in Germany^[60].

2.2.1 The electoral system of Germany

In Germany, the citizens are able to elect the members of the “Bundestag”, the members of the “Landtage” and the governments of the communes^[61]. Each person who is at least eighteen years old, owns a German passport, has lived in Germany for more than three months and is in the electoral register^[62] has the right to vote and the right to be elected^[63]. However, in some federal states like Hamburg and Brandenburg, citizens who are sixteen years old already have the right to vote for the members of the “Länderparlamente” and the governments of the communes. The right to run for political office is only for people who are at least eighteen years old^[64].

The election of the “Bundestag” takes place every four years. There were eighteen legislative periods since the German federal government was established^[65] and the next election will take place on the twenty-fourth of September 2017^[66]. The majority of the “Länderparlamente” are elected every five years by the citizens. Only in Bremen, the elections take place every four years^[67]. Moreover, the majority of the elections of the commune governments are also every five years. Citizens of Bremen elect the local commune governments every four years. The Free State of Bavaria holds elections every six years^[68].

According to the thirty-eighth paragraph of the German constitution, every political election in Germany has to be free, general, secret, equal and direct^[69].

The elections of the “Bundestag” are based on the personal proportional representation model. This is a combination of the majority voting system and the proportional representation. Each voter in a “Bundestag”-election has two votes^[70]. The first vote is for a particular politician from the voter’s election district and the outcome is based on the majority voting system. In addition, the voters have the opportunity to elect a political party with their second vote which is tallied based on the proportional representation. Depending on how many votes a party receives, more politicians from this party will get seats in the “Bundestag”^[71]. In order to limit the number of parties in the “Bundestag”, only parties who receive at least five percent of all votes get seats in the “Bundestag”. This law is called “Fünf-Prozent-Hürde” and it was made to prevent a parliament with seventeen parties as it had been the case during the Weimar Republic^[72]. As mentioned before, the “Bundestag” has 598 delegates. Half of them are elected by the first vote and the remainder is determined by the second vote of each voter^[73]. The majority of the “Landtagswahlen” are also based on personal proportional representation. Only the state of Saarland uses a proportional representation^[74]. In almost all federal states, the elections of the governments of the communes are based on the proportional representation. Only North Rhine-Westphalia uses the personal proportional representation for local elections^[75].

2.2.2 The party system of Germany

In the “Bundesrepublik Deutschland”, there are a lot of political parties to choose from, which results in a true multiple party system^[76]. The dominant party in Germany is the “Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschland” (CDU) which received 41.5 percent of the vote during the most recent parliamentary election for the “Bundestag” in 2013^[77]. It is the party which gets the most votes in the rural areas^[78]. The “Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschland” (SPD) which got 25.7 percent at the last parliamentary election for the “Bundestag” in 2013^[79] is the party which gets the most votes in the German cities^[80]. Other parties that are represented in the “Bundestag” are “Die Grünen”, which was founded by the anti-nuclear movement in the 70s and 80s^[81], the “Freie Demokratische Partei”, “Die Linke” and the “Alternative für Deutschland“^[82].

3 The governmental system of the United States of America

3.1 The historical development of the governmental system of the United States of America

Towards the end of the 15th century, European countries and later especially the United Kingdom established colonies in North America^[83].

In the second half of the 18th century, the United Kingdom imposed more and more taxes and restrictions on its North American colonies because of the bad economic situation at home. In response to the increasing pressure from King George III, representatives of 12 of the 13 all British colonies in North America met at the first Continental Congress in 1774^[84]. Many people that would later play an important role in America´s future attended. Among them were George Washington (first president of USA in future)^[85] and John Adams (second president of USA in future)^[86]. At the first Continental Congress, the participants claimed that the British government dismiss the tea tax. This resulted in an overreaction by the British government which feared the start of a rebellion. This conflict subsequently led to the American Revolutionary War from 1775 until 1783^[87]. The first Continental army, which was led by George Washington, fought against the British army^[88]. At the Second Continental Congress in July 1776, Thomas Jefferson, who would later become the third president of the USA, drafted the Declaration of Independence^[89]. The thirteen colonies, which had mostly been independent of each other until then, became the first thirteen American states^[90]. Each state had one vote in Congress, which is considered the first national political institution with still very limited political power at the time^[91].

In 1778, the United States Constitution was written by 55 members of Congress under the leadership of George Washington. It has been the political foundation of the United States ever since^[92]. For instance, the electoral system was outlined in this original Constitution. It also included a clause that denied African-Americans the right to vote.

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