Explaining the Frequency of Constitutional Change in the German Länder: Institutional and Party Factors

Werner Reutter and Astrid Lorenz

Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 2016, vol. 46, issue 1, 103-127

Abstract: In this article, we try to explain why some German Land constitutions are changed more frequently than others. Notably, we consider three arguments: first, we point out that subnational constitutional politics are an important, permanent, and salient issue in the German Länder. Second, we examine the extent to which parties and features of subnational constitutions impact the number of constitutional amendments in the German Länder. The analysis shows that both institutional and party factors partially explain the policy variation. Third, based on these findings, we conclude that theories trying to explain subnational constitutional amendments need to combine institutional and actor-centered approaches. Furthermore, German consensus democracy seems to work in a specific way at the Länder level.

Date: 2016
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