German Unification and Bureaucratic Transformation
| Published date | 01 October 1993 |
| Date | 01 October 1993 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/019251219301400402 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
319-
German
Unification
and
Bureaucratic
Transformation
HANS-ULRICH
DERLIEN
ABSTRACT.
This
paper
elaborates the
role
of
bureaucracy
in
the
process
of
German
unification
since
1990,
first
by
analyzing
the
interplay
between
politics
and
ministerial
bureaucracy
in
negotiating
the
unification
treaty
including
its
civil
service
related
part
with
the
German
Democratic
Republic;
second,
by
describing
the
implementation
of
administration
policy
(comprising
personnel
and
organization
policies),
the
elite
import
and
transfer
of
administrative
structures
from
the
west
are
emphasized
as
essential
elements
in
transforming
the
East
German
polity.
Structural
conservatism
rather
than
innovation
can
be
observed
as
a
result.
With
respect
to
the
broader
topic
of
regime
change,
elites,
and
bureaucracy,
it
is
argued
that,
owing
to
the
dual
nature
of
transition
in
East
Germany
(implosion
plus
unification),
the
availability
of
a
counter-bureaucracy
and
an
external
elite
reservoir
(as
well
as
western
capital)
accounts
for
the
absence
of
political
resistance
of
the
old
apparatuses
that
presently
bother
East
European
countries.
However,
programmatic
and
financial
policies
have
to
accompany
administration
policy
to
become
fully
effective.
East
Germany,
the
former
German
Democratic
Republic
(GDR),
in
1989/90
experi-
enced
political
change
of
a
twofold
nature:
a
silent
revolution
(or
implosion)
of
the
totalitarian
political
system
and,
owing
to
the
subsequent
unification
with
the
Federal
Republic
of
Germany
(FRG),
the
loss
of
statehood
and
the
adoption
of
the
West
German
constitution.
This
dual
regime
change,
revolution
and
unification,
has
deeply
affected
life
and
politico-administrative
institutions
in
the
east,
but
it
is
predictable
that-beyond
the
constitutional
amendments
already
passed-the
western
part
of
the
country,
too,
will
not
be
the
same
as
it
was
before
3
October
1990.
Bureaucracy
played
an
important
role
in
the
unification
process.
For
one,
the
federal
bureaucracy
was
at
its
best
in
drafting
the
unification
treaty.
Further,
West
German
administration
policy
is
assisting
to
adapt
or
to
create
administrative
struc-
tures
in
the
eastern
part
of
the
country.
A
transfer
of
personnel
and
organizations
is
considered
necessary
in
order
to
put
West
German
programs
and
routines
into
320
operation
and
to
establish
the
rule
of
law
(Rechtsstaat)
and
a
market
economy.
Creating
a
compatible
administrative
environment
became
a
prerequisite
for
socio-
economic
transformation
policies
to
facilitate,
in
the
long
run,
&dquo;substantive&dquo;
unifi-
cation.
Therefore,
bureaucracy
is
playing
an
important
role
in
the
processes
of
unification
and
transformation
of
the
eastern
part
of
Germany.
The
aim
of
this
paper
is
threefold.
First,
the
interplay
between
politics
and
administration
will
be
sketched
as
it
was
observed
in
policy-making
for unification.
On
a
descriptive
level
it
will
be
shown
that
what
future
historians
might
perceive
as
unique
historical
decisions
by
politicians
actually
required
a
professional
bureau-
cratic
apparatus
to
prepare
and
implement
those
decisions,
albeit
with
an
unusual
amount
of
political
management.
Second,
within
this
policy-making
process,
the
strategy
of
using
personnel
policy
as
a
means
to
politically
control
and
profession-
ally
integrate
the
inherited
eastern
bureaucratic
apparatuses
became
particularly
important.
In
depicting
personnel
policy
considerations
with
respect
to
the
unifica-
tion
treaty
and
their
subsequent
implementation,
comparisons
to
other
East
European
countries
in
the
transition
to
democracy
and
the
market
economy
are
made.
During
political
regime
changes
one
central
problem
is
for
the
new
political
elites
to
overcome
the
resistance
of
civil,
military,
industrial,
and
monopoly
party
bureaucrats.
Third,
administrative
organization
policy
and
the
question
of
to
what
extent
structural
conservatism
or
innovation
occurred
in
this
rapid
transformation
process
will
be
dealt
with.
In
conclusion,
some
limitations
of
administration
policy
for
bringing
about
the
ultimately
intended
socio-economic
transformation
will
be
indicated;
it
is
argued
that
the
effectiveness
of
personnel
and
organizational
trans-
fers
is
contingent
upon
contextual
preconditions
and
concomitant
programmatic
and
budgetary
policy
decisions that
politically
challenge
the
new
FRG.
Politics
and
Administration
in
the
Unification
Process
Although
historians
are
well
advised
to
let
time
pass
before
assessing
events
of
undoubted
importance,
political
science
discussion
about
the
relative
importance
of
situational
factors
and
the
role
of
individual
politicians
in
the
process
of
German
unification
started
immediately
after
the
event;
some
emphasized
its
&dquo;improvised&dquo;
character
(Lehmbruch,
1990),
others
stressed
the
interdependence
between
the
exceptional
situation
and
the
temporarily
charismatic
traits
of
Chancellor
Kohl
(Hartwich,
1991),
while
the
preconditions
of
international
politics
are
occasionally
recollected
(von
Beyme,
1991:
17-21). Certainly,
there
can
be
no
doubt
that,
actively
and/or
reactively,
political
decisions
without
the
usual
bureaucratic
prepa-
ration
and
partly
against
bureaucratic
advice
were
taken
between
Chancellor
Kohl’s
initial
confederation
plan
of
November
1989
and
the
treaty
about
German
economic
union
of
May
1990.
When
this
state
treaty
and
the
second,
so-called
unification
treaty
between
East
and
West
Germany
were
elaborated
and
details
had
to
be
considered,
the
federal
bureaucracy
with
its
expertise
and
routine
operations
became
more
important.
Furthermore,
as
bureaucracy
itself
was
the
object
of
negotiations
between
East
Berlin
and
Bonn,
the
relationship
between
politics
and
administration
apparently
was
almost
inverted,
as
will
be
shown
in
the
next
section.
Political
Management
and
Bureaucratic
Expertise
When
Chancellor
Kohl
published
his
ten-point
plan
for
a
German
confederation
on
28
November
1989
after
the
political
destabilization
of
the
East
German
regime,
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