THE POLITICAL CULTURE OF GERMANY
Final Paper: The Political Culture of Germany
The Country of Germany is known for many things Oktoberfest, the autobahn, the Rhine River and a very horrific and turbulent past. The Germany of today continues to be forged out of the mistakes of its past. From Hitler, to Nazism to concentration camps, Germany has worked diligently to move past its horrible past and become a true political and economic leader in the European Union and the world. It has brought stability and has opened its doors to many immigrants from both the East and the West. All of this had shaped the German political landscape. It has much strength and very few weaknesses. Today the German political system and culture is the model for the whole of Europe. It has the most stability and therefore has emerged as the leader for the European Union. To understand Germany’s current political culture, its past must be examined. Germany has a very checkered past that included the two World Wars that they started and the attempt by Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime to wipe out the entire Jewish population of Europe at the time. Out of this came the Constitution of 1949, a collaboration of the previous German constitution of 1871 and the Weimar constitution of 1919. The most important feature involved the sharing of political power between the central government and the local states or the Länder. (Darlington, 2012) This sharing resulted from the negative experiences from Germany’s past and the desire to not let an authoritarian state or figure come to power. Specific parts of Germany’s Basic Laws address and curb any extreme political parties from disturbing the political democratic balance. The article that curbs any future uprising is Article 18 which states:
"Whoever abuses freedom of expression of opinion, in particular freedom of the press, freedom of teaching, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, privacy of posts and telecommunications, property, or the right of asylum in
The Country of Germany is known for many things Oktoberfest, the autobahn, the Rhine River and a very horrific and turbulent past. The Germany of today continues to be forged out of the mistakes of its past. From Hitler, to Nazism to concentration camps, Germany has worked diligently to move past its horrible past and become a true political and economic leader in the European Union and the world. It has brought stability and has opened its doors to many immigrants from both the East and the West. All of this had shaped the German political landscape. It has much strength and very few weaknesses. Today the German political system and culture is the model for the whole of Europe. It has the most stability and therefore has emerged as the leader for the European Union. To understand Germany’s current political culture, its past must be examined. Germany has a very checkered past that included the two World Wars that they started and the attempt by Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime to wipe out the entire Jewish population of Europe at the time. Out of this came the Constitution of 1949, a collaboration of the previous German constitution of 1871 and the Weimar constitution of 1919. The most important feature involved the sharing of political power between the central government and the local states or the Länder. (Darlington, 2012) This sharing resulted from the negative experiences from Germany’s past and the desire to not let an authoritarian state or figure come to power. Specific parts of Germany’s Basic Laws address and curb any extreme political parties from disturbing the political democratic balance. The article that curbs any future uprising is Article 18 which states:
"Whoever abuses freedom of expression of opinion, in particular freedom of the press, freedom of teaching, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, privacy of posts and telecommunications, property, or the right of asylum in
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