Since reunification in 1990, the Berlin Republic represents united Germany and its constitutional framework. However, measures aimed at counter-terrorism, civil order, and national security frequently challenge fundamental civil liberties. This section explores contemporary issues surrounding state surveillance, police enforcement, protest rights, and how security policies impact democratic rights in modern Germany.
A recent decision by the Saxon Higher Administrative Court (OVG) marks a severe shift in German administrative practice, raising fundamental constitutional and rule-of-law concerns. A young woman in Saxony has been denied admission to her…
When the judiciary of a democratic state holds suspects like Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, Rüdiger von Pescatore, Michael Fritsch, Johanna Findeisen, Maximilian Eder, or Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss behind bars for four years without a legally binding…
The procedure to ban a political party is among the sharpest tools within the German Constitution (Article 21, Paragraph 2). It is designed to defend the free democratic basic order against its enemies. However, the…
The murder spree by the far-right terrorist group “National Socialist Underground” (NSU)—ten murders, several bomb attacks, and numerous bank robberies between 2000 and 2011—stands as the most severe series of far-right terrorist acts in the…
With a single sentence, CDU leader Friedrich Merz laid bare the authoritarian mindset governing the political establishment of the Berlin Republic regarding the internet: “Please don’t come at me with free speech.” In renewed pushes,…
Rather than tackling the country’s urgent crises—economic decline, a failed energy transition, and rampant bureaucracy—with constructive solutions, the federal government under Friedrich Merz relies on a dangerous tactic: all-out escalation against the democratic opposition. What…
Relations between Germany and Russia have reached a historic low. While the Federal Republic emphasizes that its measures are directed against the Kremlin rather than the Russian population, the reality on the ground paints a…
A landslide election victory, a historic result, and an unmistakable mandate from millions of citizens: the election result in Saxony-Anhalt, with 43.8% of the vote going to the AfD, marks a political turning point. Yet…
Free, equal, and secret elections form the bedrock of parliamentary democracy. However, wherever individuals count ballot papers and complete official election records under time pressure, risks naturally arise—whether through organizational strain, clerical recording errors, or,…
Vera Lengsfeld is one of the most defining figures of the East German civil rights movement. Her biography stands as an exemplary testament to the courage to resist a socialist dictatorship, the bitter experiences of…
Whenever an established governing majority runs out of political answers, the hour of the prohibition argument strikes. The recent joint push by Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Cem Özdemir and Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius in…
A spectre is haunting the corridors of German industry associations and trade fair companies: the fear of genuine, unpredictable discourse. What was once conceived as a celebration of pop culture, technological innovation, and global exchange…