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Germany
Quick History
1989 – 1990 Reunification still a big deal in Germany. Vexing problem in Germany is
that there are still, to this day, two Germanys.
West Germany: One of the great economic engines of the world. Unique German
traits, but larger structures familiar to English parliamentary system.
Summary: German citizens, much like American citizens, live under two
sovereigns. One of the most unique things when you look at the Germany system.
UK, France, unitary system. No kind of state government, ultimately parliament in
England can tell lower leaders (state, etc) what to do. Germany different.
Summary: The politics of dealing with Germany, due to the federalism, are a lot
more tricky. German states have immense political power. In terms of being able to
impact national German laws, treaty agreements, etc, get implemented and carried
out, German states have massive power. Much more than US. Courtesy of the Basic
Law. If indeed the law will in some way negatively impact the Germany states, they
can veto. Our states have no authority to veto a law made by the national congress.
We can go to the courts, etc, but states have no ability in the legislating process to
stop a national law from taking effect.
In Germany there was an instance where states, through the law making process,
actually stopped a law from being instituted.
When you look at the Iraq war, France didn’t help, easy to understand why. They
have $9 billion in Iraq oil contracts, forget it. But with the German situation, they
were much more tricky. They as well had oil contracts with Iraq but also had a whole
host of state issues. This made the whole decision much more tricky. Unfortunately,
we lumped them together.
(This is big) American’s love to talk about how we are the freest most open society,
embracer of civil liberties, on planet Earth. It depends on what areas we look at.
Access to government information? Yes. Most definitely. Social policy? Health care?
Drugs? No. Europeans can generally smoke pot, etc.
Germany is a parliamentary arrangement just like the British system, but with the
big difference that Germany also has independent states with their own government
systems. Federal parliamentary system.
German President
German Chancellor
Summary: The government makes the laws, they are fed to the lower house, and
are then passed. The upper house can get involved and make life difficult. Thinking
about the reasons why we changed how Senators are put in office, you can see how
there is some turmoil in Germany with regards to their appointment of Bundesrat
members. Bundesrat look after their states, not for the welfare of the
entire nation. Individual state governments can sabotage national legislation.
• If the Bundesrat (upper house) vetoes a law passed by the Bundestag, then
the two houses must work for compromise.
• If this does not happen – the law does not take effect
• Chancellor must work and negotiate with the lower and upper houses much
more than in other parliamentary arrangements.
• In the UK parliamentary system, there are no fights, no compromise. German
is very different in this area.
• In some ways, its kind of a give and take similar to the way the US House of
Rep. and US Senate.
If there is a single country in the world that looks a lot like us, politically,
governmentally, it is Germany.
Bundestag
Summary: So, German voters go in to polls and vote twice. Once for person, once
for party. You go in vote for a specific candidate, say for Congress, then you vote for
a specific party.
The US uses a plurality vote: Meaning, who gets the most votes. Meaning it
doesn’t have to be 50%+ (majority). Just largest number of votes.
Plurality voting means its possible for someone to get in to office who
didn’t win an outright majority.
Bundesrat
• Has 69 members that are directly appointed by the Lander (think how we
used to be)
• Number of members for each Lander is based on their respective population
size
• Each Lander gets between 3 to 6 members depending on population
• Bundesrat can veto federal law that directly affects the Lander (think it would
affect the German state either A) economic output or B) territorial integrity
(boundaries) or C) health care, etc)
• Lander have immense political power
Summary: Larger areas of population get as much as 6 votes, whereas smaller get
3. This deviates a bit from our senatorial system. The German states have much
more power in the law making process than our states do. Our senators cannot
band together and ultimately veto a law, etc. They can hold it up, but nothing more.
The German senators can.
10/29/2008
European Union
• The European Union was born out of the European Coal and Steel Community
(ECSC)
• The ECSC was established in 1951
• Started Six Countries: France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands,
Luxembourg
• ECSC sought to bring about peace on the European continent through
economic integration.
• In 1955 the ECSC moves to change itself into the European economic
community (EEC)
• The names change as the organization gets bigger.
• 1957 the six countries sign the Treaty of Rome
• Four Freedoms of the Treaty of Rome:
1. Goods
2. Capital
3. Labor
4. Services
European Union
EU Institutions
1. Council of the European Union (or Council of Ministers)
Total of 27 members – one from each country (state)
Members serve as the official policy spokespeople for their
respective countries
Twice a year the heads-of-state meet to debate and make the
major policy decision of the EU.
Basically, makes the broad policies the EU pursues. Very
top-down type of approach.
Has a rotating Presidency, every 6 months one of the heads of
the countries is a President.
Currently, the president is France.
2. European Commission (all about running the day-to-day operations of
the EU)
27 seats each state gets one seat
Commissioners are appointed by their home countries but are
bound to be loyal to the operation and work of the EU.
Make sure everything is carried out the way their home country
expects.
The more populated and powerful EU countries like the UK,
France, and Germany have more influence on the commission.
(Weighted voting)
Essentially, they carry out the initiatives (implement,
make specific) what the Council decides.
The Commission’s Primary Jobs:
1. Run the EU Bureaucracy – its various agencies that
implement EU law.
2. Make the rules that allow for implementation in the 27
member countries.
3. EU Parliament
785 Members
More population in a country, the more seats they get in the
parliament
EMPs are directly elected by the people in their respective
countries
Serve a 5 year term
EMPs do not sit with their countries but by political party
9 parties represented.
Eight major political parties in the EU parliament ranging form
the Christian Democrats, to the Greens, to the Communists
The parliaments primary powers include budgetary powers and
appointing the EU commission. How to spend on, hire/fire EU
commission.
Thus, not entirely powerless.
4. EU Court of Justice
27 judges – one from each country
Judges hold a sex year term
Court has jurisdiction over EU matters
Could even throw a country out of the EU.
Very active on issue of human rights.
What can it do?
• Court can overturn actions taken by all EU institutions
• Verdicts of the court are legally binding on the member
states
• Sanctioning powers of the EU court ensure compliance
with the court’s rulings.
5. EU Court of auditors
27 members – one from each country
Court of auditors oversee the EU budget
Auditors also investigate fraud and waste of the EU budget
Good people that brought you the 99 or 2002 scandal that lead
to dissolution of parliament.
This allows them to prosper, REAL ACCOUNTABILITY, as opposed
to UN. Which also has no sanctioning powers.
MAASTRICHT TREATY
• Treaty approved in 1993 that has greatly expanded the EU’s political and
economic reach.
• Constitution is a document in limbo, has been written but has not been
approved. This is not quite a constitution.
• Its provisions include:
1. A common currency (the Euro) [Unequivocal success, marked blessing]
2. Coordination of social policies such as labor standards [Mining,
factories, etc]
3. Expanded economic regulation by the EU in the 27 member countries.
[Trucking, etc]
4. Expanded European citizenship – EU members are both citizens of their
home state and citizens of Europe.
5. Issuance of EU passports to citizens in the 27 member countries [they
carry 2 passports, dual citizenship, home country and EU]
6. Flexible voting – an EU citizen can vote in EU elections from a different
EU country. [a lot like an absentee ballot, back to home EU country, but
you actually can go in to a voting booth]
7. Further integration of human rights policies and protection of individual
liberties. [catch up to American standards with regards to treatment of
citizens]
Pushed the envelope on same sex unions
Racial treatment, etc
Movement of liberalism
Political Ideology
• Two Perspectives:
1. Ideology is a particular type of political thought
2. Ideology is the content of a particular body of political
thought.
A political ideology is a more or less set of coherent ideas that provides the basis for
organized political action. All political ideologies offer an account of the existing
order (a “world view”), provide the model of a desired future (a vision of the “good
society”), and outline how political change can and should be brought about.
Marxism-Leninism
The political ideologies found on the left, right, center spectrum are “western”
ideologies, that is they have their origin in Europe and North America as a result of
the process of modernization. Nonethless, they are the most widely embraced
bodies of political thought in today’s world
Marxism
• Marxism is built on classic socialist principles
1. Community
At the heart of socialism is the belief that human beings are
social creatures who are capable of overcoming social and
economic problems by drawing on the power of the community
[government] rather than simply individual effort. Socialists are
far less willing than either liberals or conservatives to believe
that human nature is fixed at birth and unchangeable. Rather,
human nature is molded by the experiences and circumstances
of life.
At the heart of socialism is the belief that human beings are
social creatures who are capable of overcoming social and
economic problems by drawing on the power of the community
[government] rather than simply individual effort. Socialists are
far less willing than either liberals or conservatives to believe
that human nature is fixed at birth and unchangeable. Rather,
human nature is molded by the experiences and circumstances
of life.
2. Cooperation
If human beings are social animals, socialists believe that the
natural relationship among them is cooperation rather than
competition. Socials believe that the inherent competitions
found within capitalism pits on individual against another.
3. Equality
At the heart of socialism is the belief in an equal society.
Whereas liberals favor equality of opportunity, socialists argue
that such opportunity will not necessarily lead to social and
economic equality. This is because equality of opportunity is an
individual ideal. Socialists believe that it is not possible in a
capitalistic world to have equality of opportunity. This is because
capitalist societies are very unequal.
4. Satisfaction of need
Socialists argue that material benefits should be distributed on
the basis of need, which is often regarded as the theory of social
justice. This is in contrast to rights-based theories of need, which
tend to justify material inequality based on the talents and hard
work of individuals or the natural inequalities that exist in
human kind.
Needs differ from wants. A “need” is a necessity, it demands
satisfaction. Whereas “wants” are a matter of personal judgment
shaped by social and cultural factors, “needs” are objective and
universal, belonging to all people regardless of gender,
nationality, and social background.
5. Common ownership
Socialists have often traced the origins of competition and
inequality to private property, by which they mean productive
wealth or capital rather than personal belonging such as clothes
or a house. Socialists criticize private property for a number of
reasons:
1. It is unjust. Wealth is produced by the collective effort of
human labor and should therefore be owned by the
community, not by private individuals.
Fundamentals of Marxism
Leninism
Common Ownership
Socialists have often traced the origins of competition and inequality to private
property, by which they mean productive wealth or capital rather than personal
belongings such as clothes or a house. Socialists criticize private property for a
number of reasons:
2. Property breeds the desire to acquire more and more personal stuff.
Private property breeds materialism and the belief that human happiness can
be gained through the pursuit of wealth.
Russia
A Few Basics
Summary: One thing we can learn from Russia is that countries that don’t have a
history of democracy cannot be made in to democratic and capitalist countries
overnight. Same is true of Iraq. Its easy to be a dictatorship, its very hard to be a
democracy. We are seeing a retrenchment back to authoritarianism.
• The story of the USSR is in many ways all about Josef Stalin and Stalinism
• 1924 – Lenin dies after leading the Soviety Revolution in 1917
• Stalin assumes and consolidates his power by the end of the late 1920s
• Stalin was a brutal leader – a classic dictator in every sense of the word
USSR—Stalinism
Gorbachev
• The USSR muddled through the 1970s under the leadership of Leonid
Brezhnev
• True reform in the USSR begins in 1985 with the ascension of Mikhail
Gorbachev as leader of the Communist Party
• Gorby was a committed communist that understood the gravity of the
economic situation facing the USSR.
• Gorby introduces two very important reforms:
• Glastnost: “Openness”, established the beginnings of a free press.
We’re stifling our creativity because we won’t let people say anything
negative about the country.
i. Unfortunately this created a BURST of internet/newspaper/etc
“this place sucks” criticism. Fast, heavy.
• Perestroika: “Restructuring”, (THIS WAS HIS PROBLEM he didn’t go
far enough) changing the government, just about everyone worked for
the government, he was like “good god, how can I get a lot of these
people off the government payroll?” began to push them out in to a
developing private sector.
• Gorby looked at these reforms as the way to modernize the Soviet economy
and social life
• Gorby also advances a third major reform – relaxing control over the Eastern
European satellite countries
• This policy leads to the collapse of the Berlin wall in November 1989
and the democratic revolution that swept Eastern Europe in the 1990s
• Had Gorbachev not been in power, the cold war would not have ended when
it did.
• “Look, we can’t afford anymore to bankroll these countries any more,
we have to let them go”
• Gorby is forced from power in a failed military coup in 1991. He loses power
bu thte military is thwarted by powerful men like Boris Yeltsin.
• December 1991 – USSR collapses.
• Yeltsin becomes President of Russia.
• Horribly ineffective leader.
• Drunk.
• Threw the country open to the oligarchs
• Well positioned Russian men.
• Become multi-billionaires.
• 1993 – new Russian constitution
• Borrowed a playbook out of the French. Not American, not British,
French style.
• Constitution establishes a presidential-parliamentary system
Summary: Gorbachev never intended to do away with the Soviet Union. He was a
committed communist, but was the last leader of the old Soviet Union, over saw its
death. USSR started to die after Brezhnev. Gorbachev was a long time party
operator. Wanted to reform the USSR in ways that would make it much more
economically competitive not kill it. Only guy to be schooled somewhere other than
the USSR, since the Russian revolution. Came to power knowing the econ situation
was dire. Realized he couldn’t continue to scare the rest of Eastern Europe.
Russia Today
• Russian constitution puts tremendous power into the hands of the President.
• Parliament is basically a rubber-stamp body for the Russian President
• 2000 -- Vladimir Putin succeeds Yeltsin as president. Putin is a former KGB
agent.
• 2004—Putin Re-elected.
• Putin is shockingly popular in Russia, despite our fears.
1. We don’t like him because he’s done a lot of things that you and I don’t
like.
2. Rolled back a lot of the democratic freedoms started by
Gorbachev/continued by Yeltsin.
• Putin has been successful at restoring some form of law and order in Russia.
• Democratic reforms have been severely curtailed.
• Free press, free speech, voting rights have all been suppressed by Putin.
1. To call the 2008 election for President “free and fair” is a joke.
2. Opposition parties couldn’t run for office.
3. Fear, intimidation.
• Many observers believe that Putin is successfully reversing Russia’s attempts
to democratize.
• Putin is aggressively pushing Russia’s interests internationally.
1. South Ossetia conflict most definitely raised the attention of what
exactly Putin is after.
• Putin is incredibly focused. 20 hours a day, etc.
• In 1993 Russia drafted a new Constitution which gives strong powers to the
President.
• The Constitution is modeled on the French Constitution:
1. President directly elected by the people
2. Prime minister approved by parliament
3. Two-house parliament:
State Duma is the lower house. 450 members; serve 4 year
terms; chosen by proportional representation (voting by party,
not individual candidate).
• People vote for parties. Basically represents interest of
Russian people.
• Russia is monstrously huge, however. How well this works
representing is tough to say.
Federation council is the upper house: 178 members (Two
picked from each of the 89 regional governments of Russia)
• The Russian president names the regional governors, so
he controls the Federation Council. (THIS WAS DONE BY
PUTIN)
• Since the President names the regional governors, hes
basically the guy that will insure the types of picks the
governors will make.
• THE PRESIDENT DIRECTLY CONTROLS THE UPPER
HOUSE OF THE RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT. NOT A GOOD
ARRANGEMENT.
4. The Constitution Court: 19 judges appointed by the Russian president
and confirmed by the Federation Council. (Pretty much a joke)
Its an idea on paper, that there is a separation between the
judiciary and the presidency, but the reality is this court has no
power whatsoever and there isn’t.
5. The reality of Russian politics today is that the whole system is heavily
controlled by the President, Vladimir Putin.
6. This trend will very likely continue with the next President (Elections in
March 2008). Putin cannot run again for President but has indicated he
did run for Parliament, and won.
7. Putin will most likely influence Russian politics for years to come due to
his young age (55) and his good health (doesn’t drink, clean, sober).
Summary: Vladimir Putin, hand picked by Yeltsin. Yeltsin had relied more and more
on people like Putin. Businesses don’t give a damn if they work with democracies or
dictatorships, they just want stability. Putin is making Russia stable.
China
Some Basics
Summary: Capitalist countries are doing great when they grow 3%. China is
beyond staggering. They’re not really communist any more. Legally, you can
privately own property. As you see it moving towards capitalist, there will be a
growing middle class, and more political turmoil in China.
MAO
• Present day China needs to be understood partly through the legacy of Mao
Tse Tung
○ The legacy they’re shaking off now, is his legacy.
• Mao led the communist revolution in China in 1949
• The revolution drove his rival, Chang Kai Shek, to Taiwan
• During the revolution the USA back the Nationalists on Taiwan
○ Is an island 60 miles off mainland China.
○ When Mao’s forces drove across China, his main enemy Chang Kai
Shek fled to Taiwan.
○ Mao does not go across the sea because he didn’t have the ability, no
naval assets.
○ China didn’t want trouble from the US, who back Chang.
• Mao was basically China’s Stalin
○ Playbook is the same.
○ Force collectivization, etc.
• Thus the split between mainland China and the island of Taiwan
• Today there is the “one China” policy, yet Taiwan is a major capitalist entity
with elections and political parties
○ Quasi-democratic
○ Factory country
○ Strategic outpost for the US
• Taiwan doesn’t have a seat in the UN, stopped by people like the US, to keep
China happy
• We call Taiwan part of China, but we don’t really mean it
• We send Taiwan military hardening
• Mao was Stalin
○ Mao had forced collectivization of workers
○ Five year economic plans (centrally planned economy)
○ Use of secret police and the military to squash dissent
○ Established of prisons for political prisoners
○ Development of a massive cult of personality, (little red book)
○ 1956, Mao initiates the “hundred flowers” campaign as a way to heal
divisions between his supporters and more moderate Marxists
○ Mao allowed limited political dissent
Don’t criticize Mao
○ Criticism of Mao’s leadership is voiced strongly and openly
○ Campaign was quickly brought to an end.
• Mao goes to the other extreme in the 190s with the “cultural revolution”
○ This was the decade of purges – anyone challenging Mao’s leadership
was jailed or executed
○ A forced campaign of devoted study to Mao’s political ideas
Monstrous indoctrination campaign
○ Furtherance of Mao’s personality cult
○ Those who had the audacity to oppose Mao disappeared.
○ Beginning of the end for Mao.
• One of Mao’s enemies, Deng Xiaoping, is purged from the Communist Party in
the 1960s and again in the mid 1970s.
○ Essentially he’s under house arrest, in isolation.
○ “Economically, you’re going nowhere with these policies, you better
change it”
○ Thank goodness Mao didn’t kill him.
• Upon Mao’s death in 1976, Deng has a political revival and winds up leading
China.
Summary: As long as western powers don’t talk about free Taiwan too much, China
will leave it alone.
Deng
• Deng Xiaoping leads China from the late 1970s until his health fails in the
early 1990s
○ Deng dies in 1997
• Deng is the father of Chinese capitalism and the architect of modern China
• Deng was a visionary leader who acknowledged the economic failings of
Mao’s leadership
○ “We need to emulate the economies of the west if we want to move in
to the next century.”
○ “Planned economy, forcing people to work on farms, both dumbass
ideas”
• Deng’s Economic Policies
○ End collectivized farming
Divided farmland into smaller plots and worked by families who,
in essence, own the land
Farmers grow for the state but can keep the surplus for sale on
the open market.
Essentially, sharecropping. “The land is completely under your
control, you guarantee me you’ll grow a certain amount that you
will then give to the state”
This was GENIUS. Something so simple has done so much for
China, grown, etc.
○ Privatization and the encouragement of private business
1979—creation of four special economic zones (SEZs)
• SEZs encouraged foreign investment, given preferential
tax rates, limited private ownership
• By the 1990s the SEZ experiment had spread to most of
urban China
• Private ownership becomes a reality.
• (Brought in foreign investment, this takes right off, just
like the farming ideas)
○ Creation of international trade partnership and the global expansion of
the Chinese economy.
The crowning achievement is China’s entry into the World Trade
Organization in 1999
As the WTO makes more demands on China to open its
economy, the more China becomes influenced by outside forces
• Deng was not a nice guy, however. Not a human rights guy. Not trying to
destroy the Communist party.
• Deng was an economic reformer, not a political one
○ One-party rule still exists
○ 1989 – the budding Democracy movement is crushed in Tiananmen
square in June
○ Possibly thousands lose their lives when the Chinese army opens fire
on demonstrators in Beijing.
○ Hardly a place with human rights considerations, etc.
Final Thoughts
Summary: The only way to undo a nasty country is to trade with them. That’s why
the Chinese were put in the WTO, etc.