Theories of Democracy and Critiques of Parliamentarism

Vocabulary flashcards covering Ernst Fraenkel's model of pluralist democracy versus totalitarianism, as well as Jürgen Gansel's critique of modern parliamentarism.

Ernst Fraenkel (1898–1975)

A prominent German political scientist who was active in the SPD and trade union worker education during the Weimar Republic, emigrated to the USA in 1938, and became a professor in West Berlin in 1951 specializing in democratic theory and comparative government systems.

Totalitarian Dictatorship (Totalitäre Diktatur)

According to Ernst Fraenkel, a system of government founded on the hypothesis of an objectively determinable, pre-existing common good that is sufficiently detailed to be administered as a political action program by a single party (Einheitspartei).

Gemeinwohl a posteriori

The pluralist concept that in a differentiated society, the common good is not predetermined, but is achieved strictly in hindsight (a posteriori) as the outcome of a delicate process mediating the divergent ideas and interests of groups and parties.

Wertekodex (Code of Values)

In Fraenkel's pluralist democracy, a generally recognized minimum of abstract regulative ideas of social conduct and fair play that legitimizes the political order, though it cannot directly dictate solutions to specific, concrete political problems.

Pluralist Theory of Compromise

The view articulated by Ernst Fraenkel that open disputes over differing opinions and the compromises that resolve them represent the only viable path in a free state to solve problems where an a priori consensus cannot be reached.

Weltanschauungsparteien

Ideological worldview parties, exemplified during the Weimar crisis by the NSDAP and KPD, whose adherents fought with passion and sacrifice for fundamentally opposing systemic alternatives.

Programmparteien

Parties defined by distinct programmatic positions, exemplified in post-war Germany by the CDU and SPD under Adenauer and Schumacher, which maintained clear differences over the economic order (Wirtschaftsordnung), Western integration (Westbindung), and rearmament (Wiederbewaffnung).

Jürgen Gansel, MdL

The author of 'Das Endstadium des Parlamentarismus,' who critiques modern German political parties as ideologically hollowed-out apparatuses functioning solely for the acquisition and retention of power.

Altparteien / Systemparteien (Gansel's critique)

A derogatory designation used by Gansel to describe established parties (from the CDU to Die Linke) that have supposedly smoothed out all programmatic distinctions through coalition-building, merging into an undifferentiated single party or 'Blockparteiensystem.'

Autokratisch-staatliche Bürokratie vs. Pluralism

Fraenkel's warning that without the collective assertion of particular interests by diverse groups and parties, decisions in controversial matters inevitably default to an autocratic state bureaucracy or an oligarchy (rule of the few).