Political Institutions in the Federal

This book offers a concise and comprehensive overview of the Federal Republic of Germany post 1945. The chapters will enable students to understand how Germany's political institutions work, their strengths and weaknesses and the relationship between institutions and the political process.

Manfred Schmidt is Professor in Political Science at the University of Heidelberg. He was previously Professor in Political Science at the Centre for Social Policy Research in Bremen. He has written widely on comparative public policy and politics in Germany and was the winner of the Leibniz-Preis of the German Research Foundation in 1995.

List of Tables

vii

Introduction

1

(8)

Against `Leviathan' and `Behemoth': The Anti-Totalitarian Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany

9

(17)

Governing a Semi-sovereign State: Germany's Executive and its Institutional Context

26

(48)

A Chancellor Democracy?

27

(9)

Two roles of the Federal President: guardian of ceremonial functions and potential crisis mediator

36

(4)

The power resources of the federal government and the veto players

40

(6)

The rise of the `party state' and the partisan composition of government

46

(10)

German federalism, or where the `princes of the states' congregate

56

(10)

The delegating state: transfer of public policy functions to civil society

66

(2)

Conclusion: governing in a semi-sovereign democracy

68

(6)

From Negative Parliamentary Politics to Democratic Parliamentary Government: The Role of the Legislature

74

(32)

`Negative' and `positive parliamentary politics'

74

(3)

The social and political composition of the Bundestag

77

(5)

Voting procedures in the lower and upper houses

82

(3)

The political functions of the Deutsche Bundestag

85

(14)

The most powerful legislative body on the continent?

99

(2)

Conclusion

101

(5)

`Governing with Judges': The Judiciary, the Court System, and Judicial Review

106

(25)

Regulating the judiciary

107

(2)

The court system

109

(2)

The Federal Constitutional Court

111

(6)

The political impact of the Federal Constitutional Court

117

(10)

Conclusion

127

(4)

Linking People and Political Institutions

131

(70)

More than proportional representation only: the electoral system

131

(3)

Political parties and party systems

134

(15)

Voting: more volatile than before

149

(10)

Partly pluralist, partly corporatist: Organized interest groups and interest intermediation

159

(15)

Representative government and the not so frequent use of referenda

174

(6)

Majoritarian and non-majoritarian structures in Germany's democracy

180

(3)

Who governs? Germany's political elite before and after unification

183

(13)

Conclusion

196

(5)

Continuity and Discontinuity in the Federal Republic of Germany

201

(35)

Semi-sovereignty, grand coalition state, and the policy of the middle way

201

(13)

The `trading state' and pro-European foreign policy

214

(2)

Continuity and discontinuity---before and after unification

216

(15)

Conclusion

231

(5)

Conclusion

236

(9)

References

245

(20)

Index

265

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Political Institutions in the Federal Republic of Germany

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

FREE SHIPPING

Rent More, Save More! Use code: BBRENTAL

5% off 1 book, 7% off 2 books, 10% off 3+ books

Political Institutions in the Federal Republic of Germany

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

Digital License