SPECIAL ISSUE
CONTENTS
  • Section A) The theory and practise of the federal states and multi-level systems of government
  • Section B) Global governance and international organizations
  • Section C) Regional integration processes
  • Section D) Federalism as a political idea
    • Gunlicks Arthur B.
    The Impact of Unification on German Federalism
    in German Politics , Volume 11, Issue 3, December 2002 ,  2002 ,  131-152
    While it is clear that the Berlin Republic represents far more than a change in name from the Bonn Republic, it is not so clear whether it is qualitatively different from its predecessor. Evidence exists for both sides of the question. This article deals with some of the most significant changes in German federalism since unification. It looks at territorial changes; constitutional changes at the federal and Land levels; the strengthened role of the Land governments in European policy-making; the perennial topic of fiscal federalism and the other perennial topic of Land boundary changes; the party system at the Land level; and the strong interest in direct democracy that has emerged since 1990. Whether these changes qualify as sufficient to justify the thesis that German federalism has become a different kind of federalism since 1990 is doubtful, but certainly important changes have taken place. Some of these are more a result of unification than others, but unification has had some impact on all of them.
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