A major flaw in the Weimar constitution was the proportional representation electoral system, which was an attempt to become more democratic. Democracy comes at the price of a strong government as it is usually difficult to form a stable government in a democracy. This can be manifested by the fact that in the mere period of 14 years, there were 21 different governments and 13 chancellors. This shows that the Weimar government lacked stability and strength which would make it almost impossible for the government to be effective and tackle the problems. How could the government solve the difficult troubles that Germany was facing, when they could not even manage to cooperate and unite? Since, proportional representation is one of the fairest electoral systems, it was impossible to form a strong single party government who had a good hold in the Reichstag and only weak coalitions which could not agree upon a decision was formed. Weak coalitions meant ineffective and incompetent governments. On the other hand, it could be said that the Weimar governments were not as unstable as it is claimed to be. The Weimar constitution has produced effective and stable governments such as the grand coalition which was seen as a strong government and it stood for the longest amount of time. Also, despite the numerous changes in government, the base parties of…
Germany was a parliamentary democracy based on the constitution that Germany was run by. The Bundesrat being part of the constitution consisted of 58 members who were elected by the state assemblies, the Bundesrat had the power in theory to the law making process and by this having this possibly the right to alter the constitution. The Bundesrat had the power to veto legislation against a bill, therefore being able to stop such laws that would not be in favour of Germany. As well as this, the Bundesrat and the Reichstag had joint legislative power. The Reichstag was elected members represented by constituencies and were all male over the age of twenty five. One of the most significant points in favour of Germany being a democracy is that Bismark introduced universal male suffrage elections in 1871. This is clearly an example of a parliamentary democracy because it allowed people of all classes to vote; meaning that every layer of society had the opportunity to be represented. However importantly over the Bundesrat the Reichstag was significantly in power of the financial affairs and the banking system of Germany and perhaps most importantly the control the Reichstag had over the defence budget which was vital federal government expenditure. It had grown from being 100 million marks in 1890 to rapidly increasing to 2,405 million marks by 1913. Although the Kaiser did have the right to dissolve the Reichstag they still could hold elections after this. Furthermore the constitution was based on parliamentary democracy to an extent because members were elected into their positions. They held the power of money that…
In the period 1900-1914, Germany’s political landscape witnessed extraordinary changes in which typical features associated with a parliamentary democracy- such as significant and influential pressure group activity and universal suffrage- were present. It can however be argued that this period also represented a time in which the German Reichstag did not truly represent the population due to old and corrupt voting system for Prussia which saw votes unfairly given and the role of all the chancellors- in particular Von Bulow- during this time, which saw unelected officials yielding greater influence than that of the Reichstag. Germany was a parliamentary democracy due to the many contrasting features of the political system. Germany may have had many features where a “parliamentary democracy” can be boasted, but there are also just as many contrasting points which expose the system as being corrupt and broken.…
Democracy was a foreign concept to the German people, whose authoritarian tradition had deep psychological and social roots. On 9 November 1918, when the Kaiser’s abdication was announced, and Friedrich Ebert the leader of the Social Democratic Party was entrusted with the German Empire, “The old and rotten – the monarchy – has broken down. Long live the new! Long live the German Republic!” was shouted towards the public. However, familiarity of authoritarian rule and therefore the traditional expectation for the government to take control, make strong decisive decisions and stand as a unified front, was not a feature replicated in the new republican government. One of the problems lay in the new republican constitution of 1919, which guaranteed the basic rights of the German people but also contained weaknesses that undermined its functionality as a democratic constitution. The voting system based on proportional representation was one such weakness. With a…
To What Extent Can The Years 1924-1929 Be Described as a Period of Recovery and Stability in Germany?…
The German Imperial Constitution of 1871 was widely regarded by contemporaries to be one of the most democratic in the world. People commented at the time how it was more democratic than the UK system of first-past-the-post and the people of Germany were proud that their country was now the European capital of democracy. The Reichstag had universal male suffrage over the age of 25 and was elected by secret ballot. The people felt that they had the true power in Germany as any legislation that was proposed by the Chancellor had to be passed by them and as well as this they could stop any form of direct taxation put forward by the Imperial Government (who could only raise indirect taxes without consent) through blocking such. However, the Reichstag was not nearly as democratic as it initially seems: it couldn’t produce its own legislation and the only person who could, the Chancellor, couldn’t be removed by them. Similarly the Kaiser and Ministers were untouchable. Whilst the people of Germany voted for who represented them the very fact that the members of the Reichstag were unpaid guaranteed an unfair representation of conservative members, ironic considering it is meant to be the most democratic constitution using proportional representation. The Bundesrat was the collection of 58 representatives who spoke for the federal states of Germany. This was thought to be democratic as it…
Imperial Germany was replaced by the Weimar Republic on the 9th of November 1918 opening the door for the democracy which subsequently lead to political instability and a contrastingly new liberal society. This new republic adopted the Weimar constitution which created the first parliamentary democracy in Germany. The change in society from a previously autocratic society is highlighted by a passage in the Constitution saying “The German Commonwealth is a Republic. Political authority is derived from the People”. Electors were now all men and women above the age of 20 compared to before where it was men only above the age of 25. It also guaranteed personal freedoms such as religious freedom and freedom of speech. This new highly liberal and democratic society highlighted a change in society from the previous autocratic one controlled by the Kaiser. However the Weimar constitution had flaws in it which were used ultimately in its fall such as Article 48 and proportional representation in the Reichstag. Historian Eric Weitz said “The flaws…were to do [more] with…the fact that German society was so fragmented” highlighting that although there were flaws, they could have worked under a society more committed to democratic…
World War 2 was one of the most worst wars in recent history, World War II had lasted for about seven years, involving 113 countries. The beginning of 1939, the Allied forces were Russia, USA and Britain. to stop Nazi Germany from attempting to take over the world. By 1945, Western Europe had been rampaged, an entire race of people had come close to eradication, and the dynamic of power in many participating countries was to change forever. A man from Germany, Adolf Hitler was in charge of the Nazi party with an intention to kill anyone not normal like Jews.…
Discuss and analyze the political and economic reasons for the failure of parliamentary democracy in Germany after the First World War.…
The Weimar Constitution (rules) is set up which makes Germany a democracy with a President, Chancellor and a Reichstag, elected by proportional representation.…
Cfr.org. Retrieved October 15, 2013, from http://www.cfr.org/electons/role-delegates-us-presidential-nominationg-prosses/p15414 (German Unification Work Cited) Website “German Unification Timeline” (2010). Purbeck School Humanities.…
The year is 1933: six years before the second world war. Adolf Hitler was just declared chancellor of Germany in late January. Following the Reichstag Fire, Hitler advised German President, Paul von Hindenburg, to write a decree nullifying many of the key civil liberties of the German citizens as a sort of “punishment.” Confused and flummoxed civilians wanted answers, begging the government to discuss the reason behind all this. Around this time, the Weimar Constitution’s new amendment gave the German Cabinet - in effect, Chancellor Hitler - the power to enact laws without the involvement of Reichstag.…
“The Weimar Republic created in the wake of World war I officially established Germany as a democratic republic, but there was no general purge of the military, the civil service, the judiciary, or the teaching profession, all of which continued to harbor fundamentally antidemocratic values(book).” Building a political structure was key under Hitler’s rule. Hitler, however, was not successful in helping the government or the economic value in Germany. Between 1919 and 1933, the political and economy standings were unstable. Many Germans did not see the Weimar as a legitimate government.…
“Between the pages of a book is a lovely place to be.” One night when I was about twelve years old I came home from school and found my mom in her room lying propped up on pillows at the head of her bed, with a book in her hands reading. Suddenly, she burst into a hearty laugh that made her put down her book momentarily as she regained her composure. I asked her what was she reading that had her laughing so hard. She told me it was a book by an author named Sister Soulja called “The Coldest Winter Ever.” With a scrunched up face and through squinted eyes I asked “you’re reading about winter?” With a soft chuckle she replied “No, that is the name of the main character.” That intrigued my interest because I never heard of anyone being named after a season before. So I asked her to tell me more about the book. Once she was…
I always wonder the chaotic scene that occurs after school. Selfish drivers take others rights, producing a complete traffic paralysis. The problem isn’t only caused by such people, instead a group of many other factors combine to cause it. Chaos after school is caused by unavailable parking lots, irresponsible drivers, absence of a law or person to organize traffic, and the limited number of exits from the schools surroundings.…