Year: 2022
Author: Hering, Laura
Der Staat, Vol. 61 (2022), Iss. 2 : pp. 205–233
Abstract
Parliamentarism in the Times of the Corona Pandemic
A Counter-Tale Against the Supposed Decline of Parliaments During the Current Health Crisis
During the Covid-19-pandemic, there were frequent complaints in Germany about a weakening of the Bundestag and the state parliaments. This paper explores, if the constitutional complaint that the federal and state governments bypassed the people's elected representatives in the Covid-19-pandemic is justified. It does so in three steps. First, it seeks to situate the debate about a de-parliamentarization during the health crisis within the overall context of the latent discussion of the weakening of parliaments. In a second step, it outlines the arguments critics have used to accuse the parliament of its weakening in the pandemic. In a third and last step, the paper develops a counter-narrative to this criticism of de-parliamentarization. The paper comes to the conclusion that – even though parliamentarism unmistakably faced unprecedented challenges during the health crisis – the situation of parliaments in Germany was by no means as dramatic as it has often been described. Critics have been all too quick to extrapolate from problems of individual legislative and constitutional issues to problems of the entire parliamentarism of the Federal Republic.
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Journal Article Details
Publisher Name: Global Science Press
Language: German
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3790/staa.61.2.205
Der Staat, Vol. 61 (2022), Iss. 2 : pp. 205–233
Published online: 2022-04
AMS Subject Headings: Duncker & Humblot
Copyright: COPYRIGHT: © Global Science Press
Pages: 29
Author Details
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laura Hering: Parlamentarismus in Zeiten der Corona-Pandemie. Eine Gegenerzählung zur Verfallsgeschichte der Parlamente in der Gesundheitskrise | 205 | ||
| I. Einführung | 205 | ||
| II. Die These der Entparlamentarisierung | 206 | ||
| 1. Die lange Tradition der Parlamentarismuskritik | 207 | ||
| 2. Schwächung der Parlamente gerade in Krisenzeiten | 209 | ||
| III. Die Kritik am Parlamentarismus in Zeiten der Gesundheitskrise | 210 | ||
| 1. Rechtsverordnungen statt Parlamentsgesetze | 210 | ||
| 2. Parlamentsaufgaben auch jenseits der Gesetzgebung vernachlässigt | 205 | ||
| 3. Ministerpräsidentenkonferenzen statt Parlamentsdebatten | 205 | ||
| 4. „Virolokratie”: Die Herrschaft der Experten überlagert das Parlament | 205 | ||
| IV. Eine Gegenerzählung zur Verfallsgeschichte der Parlamente während der Corona-Pandemie | 205 | ||
| 1. These beruht auf keiner sicheren empirischen Grundlage | 205 | ||
| 2. Mangelnde Reflexion des verfassungsrechtlichen Rahmens für exekutive Rechtsetzungsbefugnisse | 205 | ||
| 3. Bundestag hat seine Reaktions- und Lernfähigkeit bewiesen | 206 | ||
| 4. Minimale institutionelle Anpassungen zum Erhalt der Arbeitsfähigkeit des Bundestages | 206 | ||
| 5. Die Landesparlamente als Gestalter der Gesundheitskrise | 206 | ||
| 6. Umkehr der Perspektive – ein „Zuviel” parlamentarischer Steuerung? | 206 | ||
| V. Fazit und Ausblick | 206 |