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Germany had no history with stable democracy. The Weimar Republic was a short-lived, unstable disaster and before that Germany was ruled by the Kaiser (emperor,

Germany had no history with stable democracy. The Weimar Republic was a short-lived, unstable disaster and before that Germany was ruled by the Kaiser (emperor, a word derived from Caesar).

jltsiren 3y ago
The German Empire was a constitutional monarchy, like many European countries of the time. Even today, it's a common form of democratic government. Before the empire, most of the states that formed it were constitutional monarchies, while the free cities were republics. And while there were only three free cities left at the time, there used to be many more. In some cases, their republican form of government stretched back all the way to the middle ages, though usually in an oligarchic flavor.
- leereeves 3y ago
  Constitutional monarchy is a very broad term, covering everything from the present UK, where the monarch's power is purely theoretical or ceremonial, to Germany before 1918, where the monarch's power was almost unlimited. The Kaisar appointed the head of government, was the commander in chief, and could (and did) dissolve the parliament. The main limit on his power was his own incompetence. Yes, some of the small states in the empire were democratic, but that only added to the instability of the whole after 1918 as the Weimar Republic struggled to unite people with very different histories.
  - jltsiren 3y ago
    Presidents have had similar powers in many presidential republics. For example, Finland was like that until ~30 years ago. Ultimately it doesn't matter much if the head of state is a king or a president. It doesn't even matter that much what they could do in exceptional situations, or whether they inherited their position or were elected to it. What matters is the tradition of running a normal democracy. If the elections are fair, if the ones who lose their power step down gracefully, if there is a peaceful transition of power, and so on. If you have a tradition of that, adapting a different form of democratic government is not that hard.
    - leereeves 3y ago
      > It doesn't even matter that much ... whether they inherited their position or were elected to it. > What matters is the tradition of running a normal democracy A country ruled by a hereditary leader with virtually unlimited power could hardly be called a normal democracy. It does matter how much power the elected officials have.

Germany had no history with stable democracy. The Weimar Republic was a short-lived, unstable disaster and before that Germany was ruled by the Kaiser (emperor, a word derived from Caesar).

jltsiren 3y ago

The German Empire was a constitutional monarchy, like many European countries of the time. Even today, it's a common form of democratic government. Before the empire, most of the states that formed it were constitutional monarchies, while the free cities were republics. And while there were only three free cities left at the time, there used to be many more. In some cases, their republican form of government stretched back all the way to the middle ages, though usually in an oligarchic flavor.

leereeves 3y ago
Constitutional monarchy is a very broad term, covering everything from the present UK, where the monarch's power is purely theoretical or ceremonial, to Germany before 1918, where the monarch's power was almost unlimited. The Kaisar appointed the head of government, was the commander in chief, and could (and did) dissolve the parliament. The main limit on his power was his own incompetence. Yes, some of the small states in the empire were democratic, but that only added to the instability of the whole after 1918 as the Weimar Republic struggled to unite people with very different histories.
- jltsiren 3y ago
  Presidents have had similar powers in many presidential republics. For example, Finland was like that until ~30 years ago. Ultimately it doesn't matter much if the head of state is a king or a president. It doesn't even matter that much what they could do in exceptional situations, or whether they inherited their position or were elected to it. What matters is the tradition of running a normal democracy. If the elections are fair, if the ones who lose their power step down gracefully, if there is a peaceful transition of power, and so on. If you have a tradition of that, adapting a different form of democratic government is not that hard.
  - leereeves 3y ago
    > It doesn't even matter that much ... whether they inherited their position or were elected to it. > What matters is the tradition of running a normal democracy A country ruled by a hereditary leader with virtually unlimited power could hardly be called a normal democracy. It does matter how much power the elected officials have.