Introduction
If we set a task to analyze the political system of Germany or the Federal Republic of Germany, it is of the utmost importance for us to take into consideration the historical background of this country, which is undoubtedly very complex, because without it our analyses will be a little bit one-sided.
Analysis
First, it should be mentioned that after the downfall of the Third Reich the country came under control of two superpowers: the United States of America and the USSR. It stands to reason that the political systems in this two separated parts of Germany were entirely different from each other. However, the situation underwent a significant change in 1920 and Germany gained independence as a sovereign country and was reunited. Since the reunification, the country has always taken an active part as a peacekeeper and the leading member of the European Union. H However, we have to admit that such events as the World War II and the long years could not but leave its imprint on the political system of Germany, in the overwhelming majority of cases, it goes for the Eastern Germany that had been under the control of the Soviet Union for nearly fifty years. Naturally, the effects of this rule are still very noticeable especially if we consider the financial situation in this part of the country, which still leaves much to be desired (Glaab, 123).
Overall, it should be mentioned that Germany is widely known as the parliamentary, federal, democratic republic. It is quite possible to say that the political system of this country still operates under according to the Constitution laid out in 1949. It should be mentioned that the country has a multi-party political system and this is firmly declared as one of the basic principles.
As far as the executive power is concerned, it is worth mentioning that it belongs to the government, which is leaded by the Federal Chancellor. This position is to a certain degree equivalent to the Prime Minister in the United Kingdom. The incumbent chancellor of Germany is Angela Merkel, who the first woman ever elected to this position. The chancellor is entitled to change the structure of ministers. It is also worth mentioning that contrast with the chancellor the role if role of the President is mostly representative or even ceremonial. As it has already been mentioned before the past events of the German history have a strong influence on the present political system of The Republic of German. First we have to mention that the function of the President is reduced to mere representation of the country in order to avoid the tragedy of Weimar Republic. The President elections are held every five years, it is done by the Federal Assembly or the (Bundesfersammlunf) as it is also known(Becker, 2001).
As far as the legislative power is concerned, we should mention that the country has two chambers of parliament. The first one is called “Bundestag ” or Federal Diet. It is believed by many sociologists that Bundestag can be a successor of Reichstag. This legislative body was established in 1949 according to the countys constitution. This chamber of the Parliament fulfills the following tasks: first and foremost it focuses attention on correcting mistakes of the governments legislative programs. Moreover, it oversees the way in which the executive branch fulfills its duties. If we try to compare and contrast this legislative body, we may arrive at the conclusion that there is some difference between them. For instance in Germany only fifty per cent of the Bundestag are directly elected from each district/ Thus, it is quite possible for us to say that German voters usually perceive candidates not as an autonomous unity but like the representative of some party.
The other part of the Parliament is called “Bundesrat” or “Federal Counsel” Although Bundesrat is subordinate to Bundestag, its role should not be underestimated. First of all, every act of legislation presented by the government must first be submitted to the Federal Counsel and approved by the Federal Counsel. As far as Bundesrat is concerned, we should also mention that it fulfills the function of some supervisor, which means that this chamber of the parliament oversees Bundestag. It is widely believed by many scholars that the legislative system of Germany has some disadvantages. First, it is necessary to mention that very often two parts of the German Parliament can disagree on some very important issues and it is often of great difficulty for them to make compromise.
As far as the judiciary system in Germany is concerned, we have to mention that it is almost entirely independent from the legislative or the executive power. It is also worth mentioning that courts in Germany are governed by the states. The only exception is the highest court of each branch, which is ruled by the federal law.
Overall, we may single out three major types of courts that exist in the Federal Republic of Germany. They are ordinary courts, specialized courts and constitutional courts. Ordinary courts usually deal with civil and criminal cases, whereas the specialized courts usually tend to focus on some particular aspect of the law, like for instance labor, administrative, social, and fiscal law. Both ordinary and specialized courts are organized hierarchically under the control of the federal appeals court. For instance we may single out administrative courts, then comes higher administrative court and the last one is the Federal Administrative Court
Besides, it is quite possible for us to say that the Federal Republic of Germany has a very influential Constitutional Court, which is entitled to contest some of the government’s decisions if they contradict the Constitution. Moreover, this court can outlaw some of the political parties on the condition that the principles of these parties contradict the Constitution (for instance, the Social Reichs Party was officially outlawed as the successor to NSDAP). Besides, the Constructional Court has right to resolve disputes, that may arise between different state institutions.
Thus, we may arrive at the conclusion that the political system of the Federal Republic of Germany may have its advantages and disadvantages however despite some shortcomings it operates almost impeccable. The only drawback is the probable disagreement between two chambers of the Parliament.
Bibliography
Becker, Jorg J. R. extbooks and the Political System in the Federal Republic of Germany. Palgrave, 2004.
Glaab, Manuela. “German Foreign Policy”. Internationale Politik. 2003.