| Germany 🇩🇪 | United States of America 🇺🇸 | |
|---|---|---|
| Government Type | Federal Republic | Constitution based federal republic (however presidentialist). |
| Capital City | Berlin | Washington D.C. |
| Administrative Divisions | 16 states | 50 states |
| Executive branch | Bundesminister appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor | Cabinet appointed by the president with senate approval |
| Head of government | Former Chancellor: Angela Merkel. Current Chancellor: Olaf Scholz | Former president: Donald Trump Current president: Joe Biden |
| Chief/head of State | President: Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Chosen by the Bundestag | Former president: Donald Trump Current president: Joe Biden |
| Role of head of state | ceremonial | executive |
| Executive legitimacy | Ministry is subject to parliamentary confidence | Presidency is independent of the legislature |
| Legislative branch | Bicameral legislature: Bundestag (Federal Parliament) and Bundersrat (Federal Council) | Bicameral congress: Senate and House of Representatives |
| Party system | Multi-party system | Two-party system |
| Judicial branch | Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht. Half the judges are elected by the Bundestag and half by the bundesrat Federal Court of Justice Federal Administrative Court | Supreme Court, Nine justices nominated by the president and confirmed with the advice and consent of the Senate. They are appointed to serve for life. United States Courts of Appeal United States District Courts State and County Courts |
| Legal system | civil law | Common law system based on English common law at the federal level. State legal systems based on common law except Louisiana, which is based on Napoleonic civil code |
Political divisions of Germany and the United States
Chancellor of Germany and President(executive) of the United States
Olaf Scholz 🇩🇪 and Joe Biden 🇺🇸
The Chancellor of Germany (can also be seen as a Prime Minister) has the role of head of government. In the US, the president is the head of government.
Chief/Head of state of Germany and the United States
Walter Stermeier 🇩🇪 and Joe Biden 🇺🇸
The president is the head of state of Germany. However, in the US the president has the role of both head of government and head of state.
Political compass of political parties in Germany and the United States
The number of political parties in a government can show how power is distributed: if it is either concentrated or dispersed. Is important to have in mind that the number of political parties does not say accurately how strong a democracy is. Also, this political compass shows the current parties in the Congress/Parliament.
Since the US only counts with two parties: Democrats and Republicans, a political compass cannot be too useful. Instead, there is a visualisation of their ideologies. Democrats can be seen as the liberals and the Republicans can be seen as the conservatives.
