Hesse Abitur PuW Bilingual FR GK key terms

Mechanism by which the Bundestag can remove the Federal Chancellor only if it simultaneously elects a successor by absolute majority, preventing a leadership vacuum and making the removal harder than in many parliamentary systems.

Article 68 procedure in which the Chancellor asks the Bundestag for explicit confidence; if refused, the Chancellor may propose dissolution of the Bundestag to the Federal President, subject to constitutional limits.

Tendency of members of a parliamentary group to vote together, driven by coalition agreements, career incentives and group pressure; it strengthens government stability but weakens the free mandate of individual deputies.

Constitutional principle that deputies represent the whole people, are bound only by their conscience and not by instructions from party or voters, even though they are elected from party lists or constituencies.

Principle that Germany is a federation of Länder with their own constitutions, parliaments and administrations, sharing sovereignty with the federal level and participating through the Bundesrat in federal legislation.

Second federal chamber composed of delegates of the sixteen Land governments, which must approve certain federal laws and can veto others, thereby representing Land interests in federal decision-making.

Federal law that requires an absolute majority in the Bundesrat as well as in the Bundestag, typically because it affects Land finances, administration or constitutional competences.

Federal law for which the Bundesrat holds only a suspensive veto; the Bundestag can override it with an absolute majority, or two thirds if the Bundesrat rejected it by two thirds.

Absolute majority of all Bundestag members, as distinct from a simple majority of votes cast; required for electing the Chancellor and for certain confidence and dissolution procedures.

Geographical constituency in which voters directly elect one candidate by first vote; its 299 constituencies are combined with Land party lists under a mixed-member proportional system.

First vote in Bundestag elections, cast for a constituency candidate under plurality rule; since the 2023 reform it no longer affects proportional seat allocation but only determines which candidates fill party seats.

Second vote in Bundestag elections, cast for a Land party list; it determines the proportional distribution of seats among parties, subject to the five-percent threshold.

Threshold requiring a party to win at least five percent of second votes (or three direct mandates) to enter the Bundestag, intended to prevent fragmentation and unstable coalitions.

Former additional seat arising when a party won more constituency seats in a Land than its proportional share allowed; abolished by the 2023 electoral reform in favour of list-seat adjustment.

Organised minority of deputies outside the governing coalition that scrutinises the executive, initiates debate and presents itself as an alternative government, protected by constitutional guarantees.

Investigative committee of the Bundestag composed of deputies and external experts, set up to prepare long-term policy questions; it advises Parliament but cannot pass binding decisions.

Judicial review exercised by the Federal Constitutional Court, which can declare laws void, resolve federal disputes and protect fundamental rights, making it a powerful check on majorities.

Obligation of all state authority to respect fundamental rights, and the indirect effect of these rights on private law; it frames how parliament and administration may limit individual freedoms.

Constitutional test asking whether a state measure pursues a legitimate aim, is suitable and necessary, and remains proportionate in the narrow sense; used to assess limits on rights and economic regulation.

Economic order combining competitive markets, private property and price competition with social safeguards such as social insurance, codetermination and antitrust oversight, framing German economic policy.

State policy to protect and promote competition, enforced in Germany by the Bundeskartellamt and at EU level by the Commission through merger control and bans on cartels and abuse of dominance.

Regulatory review of mergers above turnover thresholds, which may be prohibited or cleared with conditions if they would significantly impede effective competition in a market.

Right of trade unions and employers' associations to negotiate wages and working conditions without state interference, protected by freedom of association and the principle of collective bargaining.

Voluntary association of employees that negotiates collective agreements, organises strikes and represents workers in codetermination bodies; membership has declined as sectoral bargaining coverage has fallen.

Workers' participation in company decision-making, especially through works councils and employee representatives on supervisory boards, balancing shareholder power with employee interests.

Government measures to stabilise output and employment across the business cycle, using fiscal instruments such as spending, taxes and automatic stabilisers, coordinated with monetary policy.

Use of public revenue and expenditure to influence aggregate demand, redistribute income and finance public goods; in Germany constrained by the debt brake and EU fiscal rules.

Central bank decisions on interest rates and money supply aimed at price stability; in the euro area conducted by the ECB independently of national governments, though it affects national fiscal room.

Central bank of the euro area, independent of political instruction, that sets the common monetary policy and supervises major banks within the eurozone framework.

Constitutional rule limiting structural federal borrowing to a small share of GDP, with tighter limits for the Länder; it constrains counter-cyclical spending and is debated in reform proposals.

1967 law obliging federal and Land governments to pursue price stability, high employment, balanced growth and external equilibrium, and providing instruments for coordinated fiscal steering.

Statutory system of health, pension, unemployment and long-term care insurance financed mainly by contributions on wages, which shapes income distribution and labour costs.

Long-term shift towards older populations and lower birth rates, which strains pension and health systems, changes labour supply and drives migration and family policy debates.

Unequal distribution of income, wealth, education and life chances among groups; measured by indicators such as the Gini coefficient and analysed for its effects on mobility and democracy.

Systematic differences in educational attainment linked to family background, migration history and region, reproduced by school structures, early tracking and access to support.

Movement of individuals or groups to higher social status or income than their parents, shaped by education, labour markets and welfare institutions; a central test of equal opportunity.

Decline in the social authority of religion and in church membership and practice, which reshapes values, party allegiances and debates on religious symbols in public institutions.

Process by which people's life courses become less determined by class, family and tradition and more a matter of personal choice, with new risks and new forms of inequality.

Shift in dominant social values, for example towards self-expression, gender equality and environmental protection, which changes voting behaviour and policy demands.

Process of pooling sovereignty in common institutions, from the single market to monetary union and enlargement, which shapes national law, budgets and political conflict.

Quality of an international organisation that can make binding decisions by majority and whose law takes precedence over national law, as in the EU's legal order.

Principle that decisions should be taken at the lowest effective level; in the EU it limits action by Brussels to cases where member states cannot achieve objectives sufficiently themselves.

Global organisation of states with a Security Council, General Assembly and specialised agencies, mandated to maintain peace, protect human rights and coordinate development, but limited by vetoes and weak enforcement.

Cooperation among several states through rules and institutions rather than bilateral deals or unilateral action, seen in trade, climate and security regimes and contested by great-power rivalry.

International organisation governing trade rules, settling disputes and hosting negotiations; its appellate body is paralysed, pushing states towards regional agreements and bilateral deals.

Trade policy removing tariffs and non-tariff barriers between countries, argued to raise efficiency and welfare but criticised for distributional costs and dependence on foreign suppliers.

Policy of shielding domestic producers through tariffs, quotas, subsidies or local-content rules, often justified by security or industrial policy and risking retaliation and higher consumer prices.