How the Principle of Consensus Manifests in the Political System of the Federal Republic of Germany
How does the principle of ‘consensus’ manifest itself in the political system of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG)?
In Arend Lijpharts Patterns of Democracy (1999, 34), he describes the ‘consensus’ model of democracy as a model that tries to share, disperse, and restrain power as opposed to the Westminster-style majoritarian model, which aims to concentrate power in the hands of the majority. This essay will analyse the Federal Republic of Germany and aim to show to what extent the principle of ‘consensus’ is manifested in its political system, focusing on the constitution, electoral system, Federalism and the legislative.
Constitutional rigidity and strong judicial review are two elements of the principle of ‘consensus’ and both of these are manifested in the FRG’s political system (Lijphart, 1999, 40-41). The FRG’s ‘Basic Law’, named as such in order to emphasize the provisional and transitional character of the West German state after World War Two, can be described as a constitutional democratic theory mainly of European and American traditions, creating a human-rights based democracy underpinned by a high degree of power sharing, separation of powers, a competitive party system, the rule of law, federalism, the commitment to social policy and the openness of the constitution to the delegation of sovereignty to international and trans-national organisations (Schmidt, 2003, 13).
The rigidity of the ‘Basic Law’ is made clear when one studies the process of amendment. The first 20 articles, based on the absolute protection of human rights such as equality before the law or freedom of belief (1-19) and the federal basis of the state (Article 20) cannot be amended (Roberts, 2000, 36-37). This is due to the wish of the framers to protect its key elements against amendments that would undermine the democratic and decentralised nature of the regime (Roberts, 2000, 36-37). The rest of the ‘Basic Law’ can only be amended if a two-thirds majority in
In Arend Lijpharts Patterns of Democracy (1999, 34), he describes the ‘consensus’ model of democracy as a model that tries to share, disperse, and restrain power as opposed to the Westminster-style majoritarian model, which aims to concentrate power in the hands of the majority. This essay will analyse the Federal Republic of Germany and aim to show to what extent the principle of ‘consensus’ is manifested in its political system, focusing on the constitution, electoral system, Federalism and the legislative.
Constitutional rigidity and strong judicial review are two elements of the principle of ‘consensus’ and both of these are manifested in the FRG’s political system (Lijphart, 1999, 40-41). The FRG’s ‘Basic Law’, named as such in order to emphasize the provisional and transitional character of the West German state after World War Two, can be described as a constitutional democratic theory mainly of European and American traditions, creating a human-rights based democracy underpinned by a high degree of power sharing, separation of powers, a competitive party system, the rule of law, federalism, the commitment to social policy and the openness of the constitution to the delegation of sovereignty to international and trans-national organisations (Schmidt, 2003, 13).
The rigidity of the ‘Basic Law’ is made clear when one studies the process of amendment. The first 20 articles, based on the absolute protection of human rights such as equality before the law or freedom of belief (1-19) and the federal basis of the state (Article 20) cannot be amended (Roberts, 2000, 36-37). This is due to the wish of the framers to protect its key elements against amendments that would undermine the democratic and decentralised nature of the regime (Roberts, 2000, 36-37). The rest of the ‘Basic Law’ can only be amended if a two-thirds majority in
Bibliography: 1. Conradt, David P. 1996, The German Polity, New York, Longman 2. Dalton, Russel J. 1993, Politics in Germany, University of California, Harper Collins College Publishers 3. Lipjhart, Arend 1999, Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries, New Haven and London, Yale University Press 4. Neumann, Robert G. 1966, The Government of the German Federal Republic, New York, Evanston and London, Harper & Row Publishers 5. Roberts, Geoffrey K. 2000, German Politics Today, Manchester and New York, Manchester University Press 6. Schmidt, Manfred G. 2003, Political Institutions in the Federal Republic of Germany, Oxford University Press