Federal Germany and Its Non-Federal Society: Emergence of an All-German Educational Policy in a System of Exclusive Provincial Jurisdiction

Abstract

William Livingston's idea of "federal society" is one of the leading sociological approaches to federalism. This article applies Livingston's approach in the opposite direction. It is argued that the unitary German societal structure, or the "non-federal" German society, has exerted centralist pressures on the federal system. In particular, the article examines the changes within the policy area of education. Despite explicit constitutional clauses that place education under the exclusive jurisdiction of the German Länder, an all-German educational policy has emerged. A process that started with harmonization and standardization has eventually led to the "nationalization" of education. This has largely come about through public demands for a Germany-wide public policy. Empirical research shows that political actors have differed over the contents of educational policy but have shared an all-German frame of reference.