The Federal Republic of Germany
Guten Tag! Deutschland is a country located in west-central Europe made up of 16 states. It has the largest population among European Union member states and is recognized internationally as a major political & economic power. It can be classified as an industrialized democracy due to its relative wealth and representative government elected by the people in a multi-party system.
Government:
Federal parliamentary republic, with a constitution known as Basic Law that was written in 1949. The head of government (chancellor) is currently Angela Merkel of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
State:
The president, currently Joachim Gauck, is the head of state and not technically part of the government, as his role is mostly ceremonial. He can exercise reserve powers, however. Other components of the German state outside the government include various political pressure groups, such as business associations and employers’ organization, religious groups (mostly Protestant and Roman Catholic), and trade unions. Several parties have significant political power: the aforementioned CDU and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and the smaller liberal Free Democratic Party and the Greens. The media also plays an important role, with some of the largest media conglomerates in the world and the biggest television market in Europe.
Nation:
Germans still struggle with national pride and identity in light of their tumultuous history, but they are otherwise quite unified linguistically and culturally. Most Germans are either Christian or unreligious, and ethnically German/West European; ethnic and religious tension is not as prevalent as in some other nations.
Regime:
The regime of Germany has persisted since 1990, when East and West Germany were officially reunited into one country with 16 states. This set up West Germany’s Basic Law as the constitution and implemented the executive, legislative and judicial branches, beginning the proportionally representative direct elections for Federal Diet, for example, the five-year terms for president, and the four-year terms for chancellors.
Banner image by Habub3 on Flickr
Government:
Federal parliamentary republic, with a constitution known as Basic Law that was written in 1949. The head of government (chancellor) is currently Angela Merkel of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
State:
The president, currently Joachim Gauck, is the head of state and not technically part of the government, as his role is mostly ceremonial. He can exercise reserve powers, however. Other components of the German state outside the government include various political pressure groups, such as business associations and employers’ organization, religious groups (mostly Protestant and Roman Catholic), and trade unions. Several parties have significant political power: the aforementioned CDU and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and the smaller liberal Free Democratic Party and the Greens. The media also plays an important role, with some of the largest media conglomerates in the world and the biggest television market in Europe.
Nation:
Germans still struggle with national pride and identity in light of their tumultuous history, but they are otherwise quite unified linguistically and culturally. Most Germans are either Christian or unreligious, and ethnically German/West European; ethnic and religious tension is not as prevalent as in some other nations.
Regime:
The regime of Germany has persisted since 1990, when East and West Germany were officially reunited into one country with 16 states. This set up West Germany’s Basic Law as the constitution and implemented the executive, legislative and judicial branches, beginning the proportionally representative direct elections for Federal Diet, for example, the five-year terms for president, and the four-year terms for chancellors.
Banner image by Habub3 on Flickr