Bavaria and German Federalism: Reich to Republic, 1918-33, 1945-49 (St Antony's)

An examination of the question of German federalism, this study aims to contribute to a more thorough understanding of the evolution of the Bavarian federalist idea as espoused by the Bavarian People's Party and the Christian Social Union. Dorondo, comparing the federalist case put by both parties, shows that while significant differences exist, personal and ideological links between the two parties can be seen to span the void created by dictatorship and war. Bavaria and German Federalism details the struggle by successive Bavarian political parties of the pre- and post-Nazi period to shape the construction of the German state in a decentralized fashion. While the Bavarian Peoples Party ultimately failed to redraw the Weimar constitution to satisfy Bavarian particularist desires, the Christian Social Union assumed the federalist mantle after 1945 and largely succeeded in helping shape western Germany into a workable federal state.