Administrative Federalism

Abstract

AbstractThe German federal architecture is shaped by a peculiar mix of strong decentralisation and high autonomy at lower levels of government coupled with an administrative culture of uniformity, solidarity and coordination. This system has been described as ‘administrative federalism’ to emphasise the prominent role of executives and administrations in policymaking and policy implementation. The federal level relies on the Länder for executing its tasks; in turn, the Länder executives possess rights of co-decision in federal legislation via the Bundesrat. While formal jurisdictions are strongly decentralised, a dense web of interlocking powers and processes, as well as institutions of coordination, creates incentives for territorial governments to closely cooperate with each other. The German-style administrative federalism has been successful, but is requiring adaptation and developments caused by trends like the upward shift of tasks from the Länder to the federal level and increasing party-system fragmentation.