Analysis of German Political System
The Federal Republic of Germany takes the parliamentary cabinet system of "separation of powers" as its political organization form, takes federalism as its national structure form, and implements multi-party system.
Evolution 1945 After fascist Germany declared its unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945, the Soviet Union, the United States, Britain and France occupied and controlled Germany regionally. According to the Potsdam Agreement, Germany "will not set up a central government for the time being", but "local autonomy should be restored as soon as possible". 19471~1948 in June, the occupied areas of the United States, Britain and France merged one after another, collectively known as the western occupied area. 1948 In September, with the support of the United States, Britain and France, representatives of the state parliaments in the western occupied area formed a consultation meeting and began to draft the constitution. 1949 On May 8, the consultation meeting adopted the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany. On May 23rd, the Basic Law came into effect and the Federal Republic of Germany was formally established. In August of the same year, the Bundestag general election was held in accordance with the Basic Law. On September 20th of the same year, the first federal government was established. In the same year, 1010.7, the German Democratic Republic was formally established in the Soviet area. In the early days of the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany, the United States, Britain and France continued to exercise control in accordance with the Occupation Law promulgated in April 1949 and the establishment of the Allied Supreme Council. In fact, the office is the highest authority above the federal government. At that time, the federal government could not set up the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, nor could it establish diplomatic relations with foreign countries. 1955 After the Paris Agreement signed by the United States, Britain, France and the Federal Republic of Germany came into effect, the Federal Republic of Germany finally became a sovereign and independent country. 1990 10 10 On October 3rd, all five states of the former German Democratic Republic were merged into the Federal Republic of Germany, and Germany was unified. The political organization of the Federal Republic of Germany adopts the parliamentary cabinet system of "separation of powers". Establish a federal parliament, a federal government and a federal judiciary to exercise legislative, executive and judicial power respectively, and check and balance each other.
According to the lessons of the dual administrative system of Weimar Republic, the head of state set the federal president as the virtual head of state in the basic law. The president is nominated by all political parties and elected by the federal parliament without discussion. The federal parliament consists of all members of the Bundestag and an equal number of representatives of state legislatures; The term of office is 5 years, renewable 1 time. The president is not a member of the federal government and has no actual executive power. Its main duties are: to sign and publish laws and decrees passed by the Bundestag and the Federal Senate and countersigned by the Federation and relevant ministers; Appoint and remove the Federation according to the decision of the Bundestag and the nomination of the Federation; Hold national etiquette activities, etc.
The Federal Parliament, the highest legislative body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Bundestag and the Federal Senate. The Bundestag is elected by universal suffrage for a term of four years. The main functions and powers are: to formulate and pass laws and supervise their implementation; Federal election and recall; Participate in the election of the federal president; Participate in the election of judges of the Federal Constitutional Court and the Federal High Court; Ratify international treaties signed by the federal government and foreign countries; Impeach the President of the Federal Republic for intentionally damaging the Basic Law or other federal laws; Wait a minute. The federal Senate consists of 3-5 government members appointed by the state government in proportion to the population. The term of office of state representatives is not uniform, and the sending state government decides to replace them. The main functions and powers of the Federal Senate are: the right to propose bills (whose proposals must be submitted to the Bundestag by the federal government) and the right to examine bills passed by the Bundestag; Have the veto power over bills involving the revision of the Basic Law and the state administration and finance or laws and regulations promulgated by the federal government containing the above contents; Arbitration of disputes or conflicts between the federal government and state governments; Authorize the federal government to take compulsory measures against a state; Participate in declaring a legislative state of emergency; Participate in the election of judges of the Federal Constitutional Court and the Federal High Court; Participate in the ratification of international treaties signed by the federal government and foreign countries; Impeach the president of the Federation and deliberately undermine federal laws; Participate in the supervision of budget, treasury and debt; Wait a minute. In fact, the Federal Senate is a federally recognized joint body of state governments. Through the federal Senate, the state government participates in federal legislative and administrative affairs and plays an auxiliary and restrictive role in federal legislative and administrative affairs. The federal Senate plays a balancing and coordinating role between the Federation and the States and between the States.
The federal government consists of the Federation and the Federation respectively, and makes decisions and manages all matters related to the internal affairs, foreign affairs, national defense, finance, economy and society of the Federation. According to the emergency law passed by 1968 as a supplement to the basic law, the government has the right to monopolize everything in "extraordinary times". The Federation is the head of government and the highest state administrative organ. It is nominated by the President and elected by the plenary session of the Bundestag. Every nomination is approved by the president. And there is no deputy, but 1 minister can serve as deputy. The Federation is responsible to the Bundestag and has its own responsibilities. However, the Bundestag can only express its distrust of the Federation with a positive vote of no confidence, that is, the majority of members elect their successors and ask the chairman of the Federation to remove them. The powers of the Federation are extensive, mainly including: ① The government can be reorganized without the approval or consent of the Parliament, ministerial-level institutions can be established, the working procedures of the Cabinet can be stipulated, and the scope of functions and powers of various departments can be delineated. (2) exercise the right of nomination and appointment in the process of forming a cabinet and government activities. (3) in the process of government work, exercise the power to formulate major policies. (4) If the federal proposal expressing confidence in him is not supported by the Bundestag, he can ask the Federal President to dissolve the Bundestag within 2 1 day. However, if the Bundestag elects a new one, the right of dissolution will be terminated immediately.
The judicial organ of the federal court enjoys extensive judicial review power. The organizational system of federal courts is divided into federal high courts, specialized courts and constitutional courts. Every state has local courts, district courts, state high courts and state constitutional courts. Federal courts do not have separate grass-roots courts in each state. State courts are subordinate courts of the Federal High Court. The Federation and the States are the same court system. The status of the Constitutional Court is higher than other courts. The Federal Constitutional Court has the right to interpret constitutional issues related to the rights and obligations of federal agencies; Adjudicate constitutional disputes between the Federation and the States or between the States. Half of its members are elected by the Bundestag and half by the Federal Senate.
Federal system Federal Germany followed Weimar federal system. The Basic Law stipulates the basic principle of power distribution and relationship between the Federation and the states: "The power of the Federation must be higher than that of the states". Legislative power is mainly exercised by the Federation, while administrative power and judicial power are mainly exercised by the States. The Federation has exclusive legislative power and joint legislative power listed in the Basic Law, while the states have reserved legislative power and joint legislative power. Where federal legislation is passed, the legislation violated by the state will naturally become invalid. Every state has inalienable rights, and its constitution must conform to the basic principles stipulated in the Basic Law. The executive power and judicial power are not only exercised by the States, but also by the Federation. In terms of budget, the Federation and the states are autonomous and independent.
Election system: The Federation and the Federation President are indirectly elected. The Bundestag is directly elected. Half of the federal members are elected according to the single-name constituency majority representation system, and the other half are elected according to the proportional representation system. All citizens aged 18 have the right to vote, and all those who have reached the legal age have the right to stand for election. Each voter elects twice, including individual candidate 1 vote and political party 1 vote. The country is divided into 248 constituencies, and each constituency elects 1 member of parliament. The candidates in each constituency appear as individuals rather than political parties. In proportional representation elections, seats are allocated in proportion to the number of votes obtained by each political party. The seats obtained by a political party in its own name shall be deducted from the distribution, and the remaining seats shall be arranged by the political party itself. This is an election system that combines proportional representation with majority representation.
The political party system is a multiparty system. But since the mid-1950s, the main political parties that can get seats in the general election are _ _ _ _ Democratic Union-Christian Union, Social Democratic Party and Liberal Democratic Party. According to the electoral law, political parties that have not won 5% of the votes or directly won three seats in the country cannot enter the Bundestag. This strengthens the position of the big party and excludes many small parties. The ruling party in the Federal Republic of Germany must occupy more than half of the seats in the parliament, and usually two political parties jointly form a government. Since the 1960s, the government has been formed by the Christian _ _ _ _ _ Alliance-Christian _ _ _ Alliance and the Social Democratic Party in turn, and the Liberal Democratic Party only plays the role of the alliance of the two major parties.
The background of the formation of German politics
After World War II, Germany began a large-scale political and cultural reconstruction under the leadership of its allies in order to avoid the recurrence of tragedies and make the democratic political system really run and consolidate in Germany. The reconstruction movement began with the introspection of Nazi crimes, and on this basis, the citizens' democratic political consciousness was re-educated. First of all, the government operates within the framework of the new federal Republic, and influences and guides the change of people's political consciousness with its democratic and legal governance principles and methods. Secondly, school education has played an important role in re-education. In schools, political education has begun to be regarded as an important way to systematically study democracy, and democracy is not only understood as the composition and operation form of the government, but also as a way of life, which every citizen must understand, master and practice. Third, the mass media has played an unprecedented role in eliminating the Nazi legacy. Through newspapers, magazines and radio, Nazi crimes were made public, which made people in all corners of the world understand and know the truth of Nazi totalitarian rule, and even triggered German self-reflection. In order to make the mass media no longer become the propaganda machine of dictatorship as in Nazi period, Germany also reformed the media after the war and began to establish public law radio and television to get rid of its position and destiny under the control of the government. Collecting radio and television tax from the public can ensure the source of funds, maintain operation and ensure the independence of management. However, the Council composed of the government and various social interest groups supervises it, so that the media can maintain a neutral position, thus ensuring full freedom of information and making the media truly an open and transparent platform where people can exchange ideas, form public opinion, supervise and influence political life. In this development period, especially after 1967/1968, it is called the west! In the student movement during the Cultural Revolution, citizens' awareness of political participation was baptized. After two stages of efforts, Germany successfully completed the transformation of political culture, and the stability and consolidation of democratic political system also promoted its economic and social development and progress. Germany walked out of the ruins of war and became an important member of the western democratic camp with strong economy.
According to the classical principle of political economy, economic system is the foundation of upper political system, and the transformation of political system will inevitably bring about the transformation of economic system. As a unique economic and social development model in the world, Germany's "social market economy" came out from 1948. "Social market economy" is the West German economist Alfred? Miller? The concept put forward by Ahlmark. He believes that "social market economy" is an economic system based on the laws of market economy and characterized by social supplement and social security, and the combination of market freedom and social equality is its principle. On the one hand, the operation of the whole economy is based on free competition, so as to realize the optimal allocation of production factors and ensure the most economical and efficient development of the economy; On the other hand, in order to maintain social stability, the state uses social relief, pensions, subsidies and other redistribution means to adjust income distribution, prevent and narrow the gap between the rich and the poor, thus avoiding social contradictions and ensuring sustained and stable economic development.
Although Germany's "social market economy" has encountered various difficulties and setbacks in the development of more than 60 years, it has shown amazing continuity and is the biggest constant factor in the historical process of German politics "change and invariability".
Germany's unique traditional political culture gradually derived the political development history of Germany. Compared with the development of other countries, Germany's political culture has played an important role in the development process. Therefore, analyzing and summarizing Germany's traditional political culture is of reference significance not only for understanding the political development history of Germany, but also for understanding the political reality and development trend of Germany today.
First, nationalism.
German nationalism is first manifested in the establishment of German nation-state and national unity. The history of Germany, to be exact, is the establishment of a nation-state and the unification of the country, which has always been a worrying topic for Germans. Before the establishment of the Second Reich, Germany was in a state of disintegration and backwardness, and failed to form a unified nation-state. It was not until the establishment of the Second Reich that Germany ended its 952-year division. Since then, Germany has risen in Europe as a unified modern nation-state. In the eyes of German classical philosophers, realizing the unity of the country and the nation is one of the important topics in their political thoughts.
One. In their view, the foundation and strength of German national unity and rejuvenation lies in carrying forward the "national spirit". The existence of a nation as a nation lies in its spiritual strength such as culture, religion, morality and fashion. They even exaggerated the achievements of German culture and put forward the fallacy that Germans, as excellent people, should assume the responsibility of leading the world. German nationalism was also manifested in Hitler's annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland and occupation of Austria before World War II. This nationalism can also be proved from the side. The history of Germany dominating Europe in the 20th century is an unforgettable "collective memory" of many European countries. It is this "collective unconsciousness" that makes Germany's neighbors always regard Germany as a real threat. 1990 after the reunification of East Germany and West Germany, East Germany was able to realize the transition to democracy and market economy, which is an exception in post-socialist countries. There are two main reasons: one is to adopt a peaceful and non-violent way, rather than bloody politics or a strategy full of blood and tears; Second, and more importantly, the realization of democracy and market economy transformation is accompanied by strong national emotional impulses. East Germans shouted "We are a nation". It is for this reason that East Germany's democracy and market transformation are regarded as endogenous democratization processes.
In a word, German nationalism runs through the whole process of German development. We should not only solve the problem of unifying all German-speaking people under the only Germany, but also solve the common trauma and frustration of people's hearts caused by the lag of their own founding and the failure of nationalists' ambitions compared with neighboring countries, and also solve the more extreme nationalism caused by trauma and frustration. Perhaps the latter two are more difficult to solve than the simple "unification" problem.
Second, the imprisonment of traditional culture.
Although Germany has made great achievements in political and cultural transformation after the war, which consolidated the democratic system of the Federal Republic and promoted the continuous development of political modernization, the vigorous reconstruction movement is not without limitations. Until today, Germany's traditional culture still shapes its political life to a certain extent, which is not only reflected in its government operation mode, but also in citizens' political participation. Mainly manifested in: First, the impact on citizens' political participation. From the perspective of citizens' political participation, because Germany has formed a political and cultural tradition of putting the country first and avoiding conflicts in history, open competition for interests among different individuals, classes and groups is not necessarily conducive to social stability and development. Second, TV media is influenced by political forces. 44% of the programs broadcast by public law radio and television stations are information and educational programs, which were post-war
Political and cultural transformation has made important contributions. It wasn't until 1984 that private radio and television, which mainly played entertainment programs, appeared in the Federal Republic of Germany, and its market share and advertising revenue soared, which soon formed a situation of competition with public law radio and television. In recent years, public law TV stations have been criticized because their daily expenses come from taxes, which makes them inevitably unaffected by political factors.
The experience of postwar Germany shows that the external factor of "social market economy" also plays an important role.
Germany's market economy is the third way of innovation.
"Social market economy system" is the middle route between capitalism and socialism, the combination of freedom and order, and emphasizes the balance between efficiency and fairness. Virtuous scholars in China pointed out that efficiency and justice are not antagonistic, but complementary. The opposite of efficiency is not "justice" but "inefficiency"; Inefficiency means waste and destruction of resources. Efficiency is also an integral part of justice, and the combination of efficiency and justice is the third way. The social market economy led by Ahmed is the third way.
Implement democracy in the economic field.
A very important feature of the social market economy system is to implement a democratic system in the economic field, that is, to implement a system of joint decision-making within enterprises, that is, employees of enterprises have the right to participate in enterprise decision-making. The form of joint decision is mainly manifested in employees' participation in enterprise decision-making through the board of supervisors, especially in the decision-making of labor rights and working conditions. Through the implementation of this system, the cooperative relationship between employees and employers has been formed in the micro-unit of enterprises. This system arrangement takes the protection of workers' rights and interests as the primary goal, and its role has gone beyond the economic scope and become an effective tool to safeguard social unity and overall interests. Not only in the micro level of enterprises, but also in the macro level of Germany after World War II, that is, when the immediate interests of workers, such as wages, allowances, working conditions, dismissal and other issues, are involved in the labor field, they are not unilaterally decided by employers, but the two major interest groups of workers and employers jointly formulate relevant standards through equal consultation.
The post-war economic miracle of the Federal Republic of Germany not only made the economy recover rapidly and made great progress, but also greatly improved people's living standards, objectively verified the great success of the social market economy and made people deeply agree with it. Its influence and contribution are not limited to the economic field, because the economic system and the political system are closely linked and complementary, and the principles of free competition, economic democracy and justice embodied in the social market economy are consistent with the principles of political democracy established in Germany after the war. Therefore, the development of social market economy not only laid the material foundation for people to identify with the post-war German democratic system, but also laid the conceptual foundation for the democratic system through the profound influence of economic life on people's thoughts and behaviors.
A comparison between German regime and China regime.
Germany and China have many similarities in national conditions and ideological culture. So the road that Germany has taken may also be the road we will take in the future. China should learn from German experience and lessons in all aspects of development. As far as traditional culture is concerned, I think its positive role is greater than its negative role. We should not blindly exclude traditional culture, but learn to use it, just as Germany is making full use of its own traditional culture. There is nothing wrong with traditional culture. The mistake is that we didn't use it correctly. Of course, this is not a matter of words. This requires us to spend some time and energy. What we need now is to calm down and explore the combination of our traditional culture and modernity through continuous practice. The result is a win-win situation.
With the reform of political system, the reform of economic system is inevitable. The market economy system of Socialism with Chinese characteristics that China wants to establish and improve now should be put forward according to the national conditions of China. However, in some development concepts and ideas,
We should learn more from the experience of Germany. The German Third Way is the goal of China's economic system reform and improvement. The social market economy system gives consideration to efficiency and fairness, which is the most basic concept, and then the legal and institutional arrangements abide by this concept, so that there will be no mistakes in development. However, there are still many problems in China. There is no substantial equivalence between efficiency and fairness, and the related supporting facilities are not perfect. In addition, Germany's market economy system has maintained a good continuity, constantly improving the system instead of denying the fundamentals when encountering problems, which is also what we need to learn from.
German political system reform is successful, and China is also carrying out political system reform at this stage. In terms of economy and culture, we should learn from Germany's experience and grasp the correct direction. I believe that China's political system reform will also be successful. References:
Chen Zhibin 1. The course of German regime. East China Normal University Press. 2007
2. Ma Min. Analysis of the influence of German electoral system on party politics [J]. German Studies, 2002
3. Wu Zhicheng Political systems of contemporary countries: Switzerland and Germany. Lanzhou University Press. 1998.
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