The historical and institutional factors Essay Example for Free

The historical and institutional factors Essay The historical and institutional factors that contributed to the differences between the current German party system and the one that existed under the Weimar Republic One of the first major ways in which the current German party differs from that of the Weimar republic concerns the way in which democracy was formed. Whilst the current system was created through a constitution that received the respect and support of all the political parties concerned, the Weimar Republic was formed as a direct result of Germany’s defeat during the second world war. Although the Weimar Republic attempted to create a democratic Germany the economic downturn caused by the repercussions of the First World War entailed that it was difficult for political developments to take hold. The Germany politicians were forced to accept of the Versailles Treaty in 1911 and the inclusion of the ‘War Guilt Clause’ led to compulsory reparations to be paid to the alies. The agreement to this treaty caused a major split between the political parties and the extreme right were able to utiilise this to create an unstable political system. A further difference between the two political entities can be observed in the economic backdrop to their position. Not only did the Versaille Treaty have a crippling effect on the German economy, they were heavily dependent on foreign investment, loans and economic prosperity from the United States. In this vulnerable position the Weimar Republic’s existence was reliant on outside investment, which came crashing to a halt during the Wall Street crash of 1929. Post Wall Street Germany was a country that suffered from mass unemployment, homelessness and hunger and was crippled economically and, by 1933, the economy stood on the brink of collapse, with an economy which should, realistically, have long since declared itself bankrupt (Frei 163). The current German party however, is operational in very different circumstances. Their economy is one of the most advanced market economies and they are largely export led (World Bank, 2007). The people of Germany have a faith in their political system that wasn’t in evidence during the time of the Weimar. Another difference between the two political entities concerns the attitudes and beliefs of the people they governed. During the times of the Weimar, the far right was extremely prominent and had great power through the support they received from the wealthy constitutents (Childers 46). Through such power they were able to instugate violences and coups. Today people more readily accept regime and acknowledge its legitimacy. Extreme right wing politics have been legislated against and radical right wing parties are banned from power. It wasn’t just economic conditions which caused the Weimar Republic to be weak. The Republic also suffered from structural weaknesses. One example of this concerned Article 48 of the constitution which conferred dictatorial powers upon the President during an emergency and did not require collaboration and agreement with the Reichstag ministers. Furthermore, the constitution installed a system of proportional representation which resulted in the multiplication of small splinter parties.This meant that a stable minority in the Reichstag was impossible and there were frequent changes in government. Works Cited: Childers, Thomas. The Nazi Voter: The Social Foundations of Fascism in Germany, 1919-1933, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1983 Total GDP 2007 World Bank. Retrieved on September 17, 2008 from http://siteresources. worldbank. org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/GDP. pdf Frei, Norbert. National Socialist Rule in Germany. Translated by Joel Golb . New York Columbia University Press , 2002