Germany's Representative Democracy

We chose to institute a direct democracy instead of a representative democracy. A direct democracy occurs when all of the citizens propose and vote on laws. This is modeled after the Assembly in ancient Athens. In contrast, a representative democracy happens when the people elect a representative who proposes laws for them and a group of government officials vote to pass or reject the law, which is similar to the current government of the United States of America.

In Germany, the Catholic Church has a portion of the population consisting of 25.2 million. The Protestant Church, has 24.5 million members. The two churches make up more than three-fifths of the population. The Muslims number is approximately 4 million, with 226,000 Shia, 400,000 Alevis, and 2.6 million Sunnis. Germany has about 2,600 Islamic places of worship, including 150 traditional mosques (Germany, N.d.). Muslim populations continue to rise, especially with the conflict occurring in Syria which is displacing thousands of families. More than 6 billion euros are being set aside to house for 800,000 new refugee applicants this year. Germany is planning to take in 500,000 more for several years to come. This amount represents 1% of Germany’s population (Shubert, 2015). Not everyone in Germany is open to the idea of refugees coming into the nation and it is sparking up conflict between the citizens and the newcomers. When the chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, informed the nation that they would be taking in this amount of refugees, Germans who strongly opposed this decision burnt down a refugee shelter that ended up hospitalizing many of the individuals taking refuge inside (Shubert, 2015). Taking in refugees into the country is forcing the people of strong national identity to come forth and combat the intake of lesser political identities in the refugees. This kind of national pride is being started by right-wing extremists who believe that bringing in so many

Most people were dissatisfied with the current German government for several reasons. One was that they had surrendered to the Allies when their leaders had been telling them that they were winning World War I. The other was that they felt that the terms of the surrender were excessively harsh. Because they did not know that they were losing when they heard the government was suing for peace, they expected the terms to be equal, not to be completely in favor of the Allies. They also felt that even with the war reparations the government should have been doing more to help them out and not to hyperinflate their currency.

With incompetent leadership and an unhappy nation, the German people began to realize that their country was in a vulnerable situation and began to look for stable alternatives to democracy. Hitler’s

Over the course of the Revolutionary War, the people of the colonies fought for freedom, liberty, and a fair government. They were pursuing a better society, and wanted a non-tyrannical administration. They needed their government to reflect this. The Constitution addressed and embodied the ideals and opinions of the people during the Revolutionary Era, which included a need for a representative democracy, checks and balances on the government, and a protection for the citizen’s rights.

Did you know that the country of Germany had the most feared, fascist government in the world? Well it did, but that was many years ago. Now it has a new government that is more democratic. It was Nazi Germany now it is the Federal Republic of Germany. It did have a Fuhrer now it is a President and parliament. The Germans’ have had several forms of government that didn’t work and now they have the democracy they currently use. The German government currently uses a Federal system with a Parliamentary head that is Democracy based.

The growing importance and power of both the population and the Reichstag made it appear that Germany was a parliamentary democracy in the years 1900-1914. The impact of industrialisation was the growth of the socialist movement. There was a rapid growth of industries and it helped to stimulate a boom in the population creating a changed structure in German society. The standards of living had increased as well as the wages of workers for the working class. Bismark had introduced a tariff law in 1879 that made the farmers have protection for their agriculture but this was later challenged and threatened to undermine them. It must not be forgotten that the Reichstag elections did increase from 50% in 1871 to 85% in 1912. Therefore Germany can be seen as a parliamentary democracy as people were seeing the right to vote and it was relevant.

In the years 1900-1914 there was arguably a significant move towards democracy within Germany. There were general desire for political and social reform and many wished for constitutional change. However, come 1914 Germany still remained nearly as autocratic as it had been back in 1900. Over this period it can clearly be shown through 3 key areas: the Constitution, German policy and events, that, regardless of attempted moves towards democracy, Germany truly was an entrenched autocracy in this period.

According to the Second Reich constitution, it is clear that during the years of the Second Reich there was no democracy. The German Electorates could only elect the Reichstag, which

The Failure of Democracy in Germany in the Period 1928 to 1934 Those in power in Weimar Germany so consistently mishandled the political and economic situation leading up to the period 1928-1934, that a well-structured challenge from the Nazi Party brought about the fall of democracy. This Nazi Party was stronger ideologically, structurally within the party and politically, with Hitler as Fuhrer a major factor himself. In addition, factions within Germany for whom a right-wing political system was more beneficial, such as the army and big business, aided the eventual change in governance. Thus a series of events occurred which can be summarised by these three main factors: failure of the Weimar

So even extremists could be represented, and thus extremists are given a say in the running of the country albeit limited to the size of the extremists. Democracy is rule by the people, which the Weimar Constitution included extremists within. Plebescites were relatively common, which are effective referenda, giving the German public direct choice on an issue, thus being ultra democratic, with the German people being allowed to make decisions by themselves as opposed to simply having elected representatives making decisions on their behalf.

Angela Merkel is the Chancellor of Germany.   Last fall, she was elected to her third term as chancellor of Germany, making her one of the only two European Union leaders that survived the economic crisis (The Guardian, 2013).   Angela Merkel was named by Forbes in 2014 as the most powerful women in the world (Forbes, 2014).   Angela Merkel’s leadership style is pragmatic and methodical (The Guardian, 2013). Anne Applebaum (2013) states “She reigns. She doesn’t tell people what to do, she doesn’t give orders, and she isn’t bossy or pushy. She doesn’t throw Germany’s weight around or make demands. She simply sets parameters, and then lets everybody else make ‘choices’ themselves.”   Merkel’s leadership style is prudent, democratic, and modest. Merkel prefers discussion, deliberation and consensus (Zeeb, 2013).   The Germans call her “Mutti” (mummy), because she understands what her country wants and makes sure her country gets it (Zeeb, 2013 & The Guardian, 2013). Angela Merkel is a no nonsense leader that is well respected.

Angela Merkel is the Chancellor of Germany. Last fall, she was elected to her third term as chancellor of Germany, making her one of the only two

As it began, our century drew to a close, with Germany once again the economic powerhouse and political hub of Europe. What is remarkable is how quickly this happened, how unbidden and unanticipated: the toppling of the Berlin Wall in November 1989; the reunification a year later; the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War in late December 1991; a resurgent impetus to West European integration in 1992; and NATO enlargement, which was consecrated in April 1999. Unquestionably, this chain of events has profoundly affected Germany’s situation over the past decades. For the first time since the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in 1949 and the painstaking process of

Along with every other nation around the globe, Germany has its own unique past. From the days previous to Bismarck to present time, the Germans have undergone significant trials and tribulations. Unfortunately for Germany the world will forever equate German history with Hitler and the Third Reich. As educated people, we need to be able to get past this stigma and appreciate the Germans for who they truly are. After the ending of the Second World War, Germany was divided in two: a free western Germany, and the communist East Germany. West Germany flourished while East Germany struggled to breathe under the heavy shadow of the Soviet Union. In 1990, after the Berlin Wall fell, Germany finally became one again with the union of East