Account for the Successes and Failures of Democracy in Germany in the Period 1918-1933 Essay

Introduction
Democracy always regarded as failed political system
Clear that demo system responsible for a number of successes and failures
This included the establishment of a reliable currency, the golden years of economic and political stability between 1925-1929 and improved international stability through the signing of the Locarno Treaty
Overshadowed by the failures including political and economic weakness

P1
Most prominent failure was constitution
Peukert “provided an open framework for an experiment in democracy which would have been quite capable under more favourable circumstances”
Democracy contained in the political weaknesses of the constitution on which the republic was based
Power unstable - clause 54 of the constitution made it possible for any party within the Reichstag to call a vote of non-confidence towards the government in power which could be used by extremist parties to disrupt parliamentary proceedings
Sotheby argued that the so called “representatives of the people”- the Reichstag politicians- isolated the needs and sentiments of the people
The determination of power in the Reichstag-the proportional representation system- meant that the people of Germany were not voting for an individual
This instigated the growth of many small parties, which in turn made it very difficult for one party to gain a clear majority
Coalition governments often divided over domestic and foreign affairs
The forming of a coalition meant that a compromise had to be made to balance the ideals of the two parties - policy-making made very difficult

P2
German democracy failed to suppress the threat from the ever-increasing popularity of right-wing extremist parties, especially the German Nationalist Socialist Workers Party
This can be seen in the Munich Putsch of 1923 where Hitler issued a march to Berlin to overthrow the government and