Germany is the world’s third largest economy after the US and Japan, following re-unification with the east in 1990. Its governance framework, which was developed in the post-war years to support a massive rebuilding of the economy and society, is marked by several strong and distinctive features. The first is co-operative federalism, under which the States (Länder) have significant regulatory powers and responsibility for implementing most federal legislation. The Länder governments are represented by the Bundesrat in the German parliament and have the right to veto much of the legislation of the Bundestag (the federal chamber). This system ...