To What Extent Was Germany a Parliamentary Democracy Essay

To what extent was Germany a parliamentary democracy in the years 1900-1914? A parliamentary democracy is the power in Germany being shared amongst everybody. The positions are democratically elected by the population of the country. The way Germany was run is based upon the Constitution the power lies between the Reichstag, the chancellor and the Kaiser. Germany was a parliamentary democracy based on the constitution that Germany was run by. The Bundesrat being part of the constitution consisted of 58 members who were elected by the state assemblies, the Bundesrat had the power in theory to the law making process and by this having this possibly the right to alter the constitution. The Bundesrat had the power to veto legislation†¦show more content†¦The growing importance and power of both the population and the Reichstag made it appear that Germany was a parliamentary democracy in the years 1900-1914. The impact of industrialisation was the growth of the socialist movement. There was a rapid growth of industries and it helped to stimulate a boom in the population creating a changed structure in German society. The standards of living had increased as well as the wages of workers for the working class. Bismark had introduced a tariff law in 1879 that made the farmers have protection for their agriculture but this was later c hallenged and threatened to undermine them. It must not be forgotten that the Reichstag elections did increase from 50% in 1871 to 85% in 1912. Therefore Germany can be seen as a parliamentary democracy as people were seeing the right to vote and it was relevant. Nevertheless, although there is evidence of Germany potentially being a parliamentary democracy to an extent, it is also seen to be authoritarian with most of the power being at the hands of the Kaiser. The constitution although giving power to the Reichstag and the Bundesrat it was extremely limited. Although the Reichstag did have legislative powers they were more the right to accept or reject what was placed in front of them. They could be still over ruled and the decision couldShow MoreRelatedTo what Extent was Germany a parliamentary democracy in the years 19001097 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿To what Extent was Germany a parliamentary democracy in the years 1900-14? In the period 1900-1914, Germany’s political landscape witnessed extraordinary changes in which typical features associated with a parliamentary democracy- such as significant and influential pressure group activity and universal suffrage- were present. 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