Democratization of Germany

The democratization of Germany can be attributed to multiple factors:

The occupation of Allied forces, primarily France, the United Kingdom, and the United States was the greatest contributor to democratization.  The mistakes made by the Allies after WWI, were not repeated.  Instead, these forces provided an extensive array of external support from creating a constitution (the Basic Law) to providing the financial means to rebuild Germany.  The occupation was undoubtably the most important factor to the democratization of Germany, because they also implemented methods to maintain democracy, and hinder the redevelopment of totalitarianism.

Another powerful contributor to the German democratization is the strength and efficiency of the chancellor.  Konrad Adenauer, was elected by the people (even though voter turn out was low) and was supported by the Allies.  His experience from the failed Weimar Republic, enabled him to utilize his power to facilitate the growth of civic culture and provide economic stability.  This was ranked second, because without strong leadership of Adenauer, democratization may not have been possible.  He was a symbol of hope for the people at a time where all hope was lost.

After the collapse of Hitler’s regime, preceding WWII, most people had abandoned the German government, fearing the redevelopment of another failed regime. This fear, allowed for the development of democracy in Germany, because it was apparent that most people were not supportive of Hitler’s rule.  However many German’s still welcomed the idea of authoritarian rule, the fear prevented those ideas from being implemented in the new regime.  I rated this third because it was important for the new democratic government to prove to the people how Germany could be improved as well as facilitate the wants and needs of the people.  The fear also ensured that the reoccurance of past failures would not return.

Unlike most countries that have undergone democratization, not many have had the opportunity of learning from a failed democracy, or the consequences of authoritarian rule.  These failures assisted the rebuilding of a new democratic government.  I rated this last because other countries have undergone democratization without this, however this point is still important because it made the transition easier.

All these factors have contributed to the Germany we see today.