Latest / The History of Germany: Kingdoms, War, and Rebuilding Europe — Fexingo History
The Bismarckian Constitution: How Germany Engineered Its Own Dysfunction
In 1871, Otto von Bismarck didn't just unify Germany — he built a constitution designed to preserve his power. This episode decodes the Bismarckian Reichsverfassung of 1871: the Bundesrat's veto power, the Chancellor's sole responsibility to the Kaiser, the Reichstag's limited authority, and the infamous Paragraph 26 that exempted the military budget from parliamentary control. We explore how Bismarck's constitutional architecture created a 'democratic facade' over an authoritarian core, and how this structural flaw — the Chancellor's absolute…
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