Electoral governance in Germany: a case study of the governmental electoral governance model

• Grant number: 23/07522-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: June 01, 2024
• End date: August 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science - State and Government
• Principal Investigator: Bruno Wilhelm Speck
• Grantee: Bruno Wilhelm Speck
• Host Investigator: Sergio Costa
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

Abstract

The research project suggests a case study on the electoral governance system in Germany, a model that radically contrasts the electoral governance system in Brazil. While the Brazilian case stands out for the independence of the administration of the electoral process from the political powers (executive and legislative) and the concentration of the administration and adjudication of conflicts in the judiciary (electoral justice), in Germany the electoral management model is characterized by the dependence of the majority powers and the dispersion of competences in different federative spheres. The elections are organized by the government and reviewed by the parliament. Only in specific cases is appeal to the constitutional court possible. The case study aims, first, to describe the functioning of the system in Germany, second, to recover the historical trajectory of the system's evolution, and, third, to identify the points of vulnerability and reform proposals discussed in the literature. We mobilize approaches from both rational choice institutionalism and historical institutionalism.