The grundgesetz after 50 years

Analysing changes in the German constitution

Bibliographic Data

ID6262261
AuthorsAndreas Busch (0000-0002-8879-0742, Heidelberg University, corresponding author)
Year2000
Volume9
Issue1
Pages41-60
Publication date2000-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueGerman Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0964-4008 • E-ISSN: 1743-8993
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09644000008404579
OpenAlexW2042917944
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited15

Fifty years after its original drafting, the German constitution has seen its text amended many times. Indeed, among OECD countries, the Grundgesetz has one of the highest rates of constitutional change. This article analyses these changes. It does so in a quantitative manner in its first section, before proceeding to ask how the numerous changes can be explained. Three approaches from the legal and political science literature are presented: one emphasising historical‐structural factors, one analysing changes as constitutional revisionism, and an institutional approach which focuses on the conditions for constitutional amendment. The strengths and weaknesses of each approach are then compared and contrasted, before the article concludes with an assessment of the characteristics of German constitutional policy

Constitution · Epistemology · German · Political science · Politics · Section (typography · Strengths and weaknesses · European and International Law Studies · History · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Law and Political Science · Philosophy

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