1. A BIT ABOUT GERMANY Why should we study its government?
82 Million people, or about one fourth the population of the US; about the size of Montana
Shares borders with 9 countries…
Debt to GDP: about 80% vs. US about 100%
Deficits/surplus last year: +218B Germ vs. -477B US
Deficit as share GDP; US -7%; Germ +.1
GDP: $3.3 trillion, #4 in the world (vs US 14 tril); 21% of EU (vs. 14% UK, 16% FR, 12% Italy)
GDP 1990 – 2010: 3.96% annual growth (vs US: 5.3%)
Exports: #2 in the world. Germ trade balance last year: +242B; US -744B
Unemployment (meas. Diff): Germ 6.5%; US 5.6 (Feb, 2015)

2. Why study Germany?
What can it tell us about late-developing states (1860s-70’s)?
What can Germany tell us about why it’s important to get the democratic choices right for your society? What can it tell us about cultural bombs embedded in a democratic constitution (Weimar Republic)
What can it tell us about punishing countries for bad leaders when you want to make them a democracy later on?
How long does it take to build a democracy that works? What does it take?
Is Germany’s “two-party, plus” electoral system the best?
What kind of political culture is necessary for democracy to flourish?
What can Germany tell us about globalization’s pressures on subnational govts? What does it tell us about the upside and consequences of joining disparate economies and environments into one economic unit (from below and above)?

3. GERMANY 1815

4. WHAT ARE THE KEY CRITICAL JUNCTURES IN GERMAN HISTORY?
Why statehood and democracy so darn late? From loose fiefdoms ( to Napoleon, to domination by Prussia’s Bismark (1850s)
The Second Reich ( ): Economic expansion and pseudo- democracy. Why doesn’t democratic change stop here? Why was this a lousy time to become semi-democratic?
Treaty of Versailles (1919)
The Weimar Republic (1919): Everyone votes, PR w/ no threshold, referenda, and PMs in polarized societies… and the problem of a strong president

5. MORE CRITICAL JUNCTURES
The Nazis’ Third Reich ( ). Fascist and totalitarian
Divided Germany ( ), with lots and lots of resources and instutitonalization
Reunification ( )
Central leadership in the European Union, including adoption of the Euro

6. HOW DOES THE GERMAN SET UP POWER?
Why do they have a written Constitution?
Federalism (more on this on the next slide)
An far-reaching Bill of Rights: Is it good to write everything down? (Settlements can be helpful)
Dual executive (Pres+Chancellor) & bicameral natl. legislature (Bundestag+Bundesrat)
A strong supreme constitutional court with judicial review and an unusually broad jurisdiction (but also selected with 2/3 super majorities, 6 by each chamber), & 12 yr term-limits)
A const. fixed electoral process (multi-party)

7. HOW DOES GERMAN FEDERALISM WORK?
Germany’s strong Lander have PR parliaments
Significant tax revenues (40%) & discretion on how to use it
Lander legislatures select state delegations to the Bundesrat, which has strong autonomous powers…that aren’t fully used except to protect state power
Lander legislatures select half of the 16-member Constitutional Court via role in Bundesrat
Lander provide half of the electoral college that selects the president to 7-year fixed terms.
Can you have strong state governments in the context of globalization and the EU?

8. WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT THE BUNDESTAG?
Germany has a semi-parliamentary system… How does this work in places like Russia and France? Why does it work here
The Chancellor has a large executive staff, that is not selected from legislature
Formal policy guidelines issue for the cabinet
Why doesn’t Germany have Chancellor-called early elections like most parliamentary systems? Why only “constructive” no-confidence votes?
Is there any advantage to having at least somewhat independent legislators? Committees, individual lawmaking, & casework are stronger in Germany than Britain but way weaker than in the US

9. HOW DOES THE TWO-PLUS PARTY SYSTEM WORK?
The Bundestag’s electoral system for 600+ legislators is (1) half PR. with an all-national district, & (2) half SMD (single-member district), using plurality elections
Just a reminder: SMD-plurality elections are sometimes called “first-past the post” whenthere is no run-off)
How does Germany’s ballot work? Isn’t it confusing?
The SMD system leads to two big parties: the CDU and the SPD
The PR system helps other parties: Greens, Free Democrats, and the Left ( which is mostly the old E. Germany Communist party)
What to make of all these hung parliaments where any combination of parties can form a government? Is Germany still a model that others should look at? Is it helpful to have “grand coaition” as has been the case since 2013 (CDU = dominant party, SPD is junior party)

10. DOES GERMAN DEMOCRACY WORK?
A little context: A full, representative democracy achieved in just a couple of decades: 1950s: studied as non-democ; today = a “model”
Industrialization in the big picture: 1951: GNP per cap = $500 (1/4 US); Today: $30K (= to Britain & Japan)
Unification costs: Over $3 trillion. E. Germ. still receives 4% of GDP in transfers (7.5% tax surcharge)

11. WHAT’S THE GERMAN APPROACH TO GLOBALIZATION?
Harder to get things changed than in Britain, but stability and centralism are the norm versus America’s inaction
Schroeder (Social Democratic) and Merkel (Christian Democrats): How different?
Is the govt. held hostage by workers & small parties?
Corporatism under a strong state (the Bundesbank)
Codetermination with wage restraints
Worker benefits & a very generous social policy
What’s their secret? Selective privatization; strategic social investment; and above all a political culture that emphasizes consensus, sacrifice, and stability
Is Germany’s domestic politics going to harm their international relations over the long run?