Development of democratic states

The basic rulebook of a country: it sets out who holds power, how institutions work, and how leaders are checked.

Splitting government into three branches — legislature (law-making), executive (governing) and judiciary (courts) — so no branch dominates.

Each branch of government can limit and block the others, so power is never fully concentrated in one place.

The power of courts to strike down laws that break the constitution. Established for the US Supreme Court in Marbury v Madison (1803).

The presidency (executive), Congress — Senate and House of Representatives — (legislature), and the Supreme Court (judiciary).

It used pure proportional representation, so many small parties won seats and no stable majority could form — governments rose and fell constantly.

A rule that a party must win at least 5% of the national vote to take Bundestag seats — designed to keep out tiny extremist parties.

The 1949 Basic Law put the chancellor at the centre of government and allowed removal only by electing a replacement (constructive vote of no confidence).

A party built on a large, organised membership rather than a small elite. The SPD in Germany, growing from the 1870s, is the classic model.

Only the top candidate per seat wins, so votes concentrate on two big parties — as with the US Democrats and Republicans.

Seats are shared in proportion to votes, so many parties survive and governments are usually coalitions — as in Germany.

Immigration reshaped who the electorate was (especially in the USA); the media — party papers, then radio and TV — reshaped how parties reached voters.

Relief (emergency jobs and aid), Recovery (regulating banks and industry), and Reform (Social Security, 1935).

It created federal pensions and unemployment insurance — the foundation of the American welfare state.

A 1960s programme to end poverty and injustice, creating Medicare, Medicaid and housing, food and education aid.

Great Society health programmes: Medicare for the elderly, Medicaid for the poor.

The 19th-century idea that government should leave the economy alone to run itself.

Social rights in its constitution and national unemployment insurance in 1927 — but it could not afford it in the Depression.

Hyperinflation (1923) and Depression joblessness destroyed faith in the government, pushing voters towards the Nazis.

West Germany's model combining a free market with regulation and welfare, so growth and fairness went together.

West Germany's economics minister who freed prices and currency in 1948 and drove the Wirtschaftswunder.

The first Chancellor of the Federal Republic (1949–63), whose stable leadership anchored West German democracy.

West Germany's 'economic miracle' — the rapid 1950s boom that made the country prosperous and secure.

People began judging democracy by results — jobs, pensions, security — raising their expectations of every government.

Anything that threatens democracy's survival (does the system still exist?) or its quality (is it still fair and trusted?) — e.g. economic crisis, extremism, or abuse of power.

From 1929 it caused mass unemployment and destroyed faith in leaders. Germany's voters turned to extremists (Weimar fell); US voters chose reform via the New Deal (democracy held).

Germany's democracy from 1919 to 1933, born after WWI. It had a very democratic constitution but was fragile and collapsed in 1933.

Pure proportional representation split the Reichstag among many small parties, so no party could govern alone. Coalitions formed and collapsed repeatedly.

A Weimar constitutional power letting the President rule by emergency decree without the Reichstag. From 1930 it became normal government, hollowing out democracy.

On 30 January 1933 Hindenburg appointed Hitler Chancellor. The Enabling Act then let Hitler make laws without parliament, legally ending Weimar democracy.

The early-1950s Cold War red scare led by Senator Joseph McCarthy, who made unproven claims of communist infiltration. It ruined careers until the Senate censured him in 1954.

President Nixon's team broke into Democratic offices and he covered it up. Congress, the courts and a free press exposed him, and he resigned in 1974.

State-controlled media becomes propaganda that crushes debate (Nazi Germany). A free press defends democracy by exposing wrongdoing (Watergate).

West Germany's approach of building constitutional defences to protect democracy from extremism, learning from Weimar's failure.

A Federal Republic rule: parliament can only remove a chancellor by agreeing on a replacement at the same time — preventing the power vacuums that plagued Weimar.

The USA had deep, established institutions — independent Congress and courts, a free press — that checked abuses. Weimar was young, distrusted and undermined by Article 48 rule.