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Article: Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany): Chapter 7C. Political Parties and the Electoral System
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Chapter 7C. Political Parties and the Electoral System
The stability of the democratic form of government has often
been
attributed to the pervasiveness of the political parties as stabilizing
institutions. "All political decisions in the Federal Republic are
made by the
parties and their representatives. There are no political decisions
of
importance in the German democracy which have not been brought to
the
parties, prepared by them and finally taken by them." This observation
by
German political scientist Kurt Sontheimer has led him and others
to label the
country a "party state."
Although most constitutions do not discuss political ...