The November Revolution of 1918 created a vast change in Germany’s political landscape. The German constitutional monarchy was replaced by parliamentary democracy that was constantly forced to withstand radical forces from the left and the right. The Reichstag, elected for a four-year term, was the central legislative body under the Constitution of the Weimar Republic, with main functions of legislation. The Chancellor of Germany was not elected by Parliament but rather appointed by the President of the Reich, in which case the Chancellor depended on the confidence of the Reichstag. The President of the Reich was directly elected by the people and was authorized with extensive powers included in the Weimar Constitution in order to counterweight the Reichstag. Some of his powers included the ability to dissolve the Reichstag and the authority in the event of the endangerment of public safety and to declare a state of emergency and declare emergency degrees, which had the status of laws. The Weimar Republic used a system of proportional representation to elect its officials.

The Weimar Republic was disadvantaged by its system of representation. Even the smallest parties with a very minor base of support had the capability of entry into the Reichstag and enact some sort of political influence. Due to this unregulated system of representation, twenty-eight political parties had entered the Reichstag and had created a system of instability in the political structure and government. Twenty coalition governments in the Republic led to an incredible political disequilibrium that resulted in a lack of faith from the German people, due to chronic instability within their own parties as well as deep roots in original social constituents that made the parties reluctant to compromise. This imbalance cleared the way for extremist groups such as the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, which promised the stability for which the country was longing, to gain power.

The Republic was unable to effectively govern to political instability within the Reichstag that resulted in a weak government and little in terms of accomplishment. The Great Depression had hit Germany especially hard with the country still suffering under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles that left it continuously paying war reparations. The government lacked social infrastructure and welfare, unable to become any semblance of  effective governance. With the country having succumbed to inner turmoil, the response to prevent an influx of violence was a constitutional amendment in the Weimar explicitly allowing the president to dismiss the democratically elected government and become an authoritarian ruler. This amendment was wholly undemocratic and ambiguous, and bred potential misuse that later indeed manifested itself in German extremist rule.

The main distinguishable facet between the failed Weimar Republic and the current political system remains rooted in their constitution. With the drafted “Basic Law”, the president’s power is significantly diminished and the ability to dissolve the constitution or democratic federal structure of Germany has been eliminated. To ensure the progression stability of the German government, the current system must immediately replace a removed chancellor with his or her successor. In addition to these constitutional changes, the new federal system has established a law that requires 5% minimum base support for any party to enter parliament, effectively establishing proportional representative stability that would not repeat the mistakes of the Weimar Republic. Moreover, extremist politics have retained a clear rejection in German political culture that would not allow for any extremist parties to enter the Bundestag.

Seminal changes have occurred in Germany since the inception and eventual dissolution of the Weimar Republic. The country is a true pinnacle for transformative politics, enacting divergences in the political landscape that sufficiently prevent any of the mistakes of the Weimar Era and the extremist era that followed from occurring ever again.