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From Unitary to Asymmetric Federalism in Germany: Taking Stock after 50 Years

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  • Arthur Benz

Abstract

Policymaking in the German federal system is influenced by the dynamic interplay of the institutions of cooperative federalism, of party competition in a parliamentary system, and of distributive conflicts between governments. This is shown in an analysis of 50 years of German federalism. It is argued that while the institutional setting outlived most reform efforts, changing patterns of party politics and growing distributive conflicts induced adjustments in intergovernmental relations. Since the 1980s, such adjustments have also been stimulated by European politics. In unified Germany, intergovernmental cooperation is now burdened with asymmetries between the East and the West, which are also expressed in a more regionalized party system. However, as party political confrontations have diminished, a pragmatic revision of the federal system seems feasible. Copyright , Oxford University Press.

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  • Arthur Benz, 0. "From Unitary to Asymmetric Federalism in Germany: Taking Stock after 50 Years," Publius: The Journal of Federalism, CSF Associates Inc., vol. 29(4), pages 55-78.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:publus:v:29:y::i:4:p:55-78
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    Cited by:

    1. André Kaiser & Stephan Vogel, 2019. "Dynamic De/Centralization in Germany, 1949–2010," Publius: The Journal of Federalism, CSF Associates Inc., vol. 49(1), pages 84-111.
    2. Markus Tepe & Pieter Vanhuysse, 2009. "Educational business cycles," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 139(1), pages 61-82, April.
    3. Bremer, Björn & Di Carlo, Donato & Wansleben, Leon, 2021. "The constrained politics of local public investments under cooperative federalism," MPIfG Discussion Paper 21/4, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    4. Norbert Hiller & Oliver Lerbs, 2015. "The capitalization of non-market attributes into regional housing rents and wages: evidence on German functional labor market areas," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 35(1), pages 49-72, February.
    5. Kristian Krieger, 2013. "The limits and variety of risk‐based governance: The case of flood management in Germany and England," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 7(2), pages 236-257, June.
    6. Lotta Moberg & Vlad Tarko, 2021. "Special economic zones and liberalization avalanches," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 10(1), pages 120-139, February.

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