Federal State Organization in Germany: History and Structure
The Federal State Organization of Germany
The centralization of power during the Nazi period was reversed to recover the peculiarities of the different parts of the country. These parts integrated sovereign ancient kingdoms and cities belonging to the Hanseatic League (also known as Hansa or the Teutonic League). The Hanseatic League was a federation of North German merchants formed in 1158 to protect and promote mutual business interests in the Netherlands, England, and the Baltic Sea area.
The aim was to move away from Prussian hegemony and territories bordering the kingdom of the Franks (where Clovis I defeated the Romans in the late 5th century, establishing a kingdom encompassing most of southeastern Gaul and Germany). The Allies also considered dismembering Germany after World War II. While Stalin did not support federal decentralization, the subsequent creation of two German states shifted the discussion.
From the Western perspective, Prussia was divided with the creation of the GDR. The rest of the territory needed a federal structure to prevent a concentration of power that could lead to another war. The Potsdam Agreement (1945) aimed to weaken the German central power. De Gaulle wanted to abolish a united Germany and restore full autonomy to the traditional German units. However, the need for a state to effectively counter the USSR led American, English, and French authorities to favor the federal model.
In 1948, a Constituent Assembly convened to draft a democratic text with a federal structure. This federalism rested on creating a chamber of territorial representation and guaranteeing a division of funding between the central government and the Länder (states). The main political forces, the SPD and the CDU, supported a federal system with a central power that united the German nation.
In the GDR, the unity and democratic character of the republic were declared, built on the German Länder. In 1952, the most important functions of the Länder were replaced by districts to strengthen the central power in the name of defending socialism and democracy, rather than in the interest of the German people. The Länder were not re-established in the GDR until 1990.
Structure of German Federalism
The German federal structure is organized into 16 Länder (including the 5 new Länder of the former GDR), each with its own constitution and government bodies. German federalism has a cooperative character, although federal law takes precedence over Länder law. This cooperative development has resulted in legal areas such as balanced development of the Länder, conflict resolution between the center and states, budgetary transfers, and collaboration in total spending decisions. The law guarantees financial compensation for inequality, and the Länder are obliged to comply with legal obligations. The Federation is obligated to ensure equal living conditions throughout the federal territory, reinforcing economic centralization.
The steering system of the Länder corresponds to a parliamentary system, with exceptions in the three city-states (Hamburg, Berlin, and Bremen), which also handle communal tasks. With the exception of Bavaria, all Länder have only one House. The legislative co-work that corresponds to the Bundesrat at the federal level does not exist here.