The Brandenburgian way - Brandenburg’s effort to reform the German system in post-reunification Germany

Abstract

This paper researches the Brandenburgian way, an effort in the government of Brandenburg to implement innovative policies in the pos-reunification context. Brandenburg tries to diverge from the federal republic in at least three dimensions: consensus politics, direct democracy, and labor market policies. Through this definition, this paper expands on previous literature that mainly defined the Brandenburgian way as consensus politics. Another contribution of this paper is that it considers the empirical validity of the Brandenburgian way through considering Brandenburg’s policies and by comparing Brandenburg with other states. Through this test, this paper illuminates why, even though Brandenburg attempted to implement innovative policies, there is no real difference between the economic development of Brandenburg and the other new states.