Experiencing Parliamentarism: The German National Assembly of 1848

Abstract

Schulz provides arguments why the experiment of parliamentarism of 1848 was neither forgotten nor lost, although the revolutionary parliament was liquidated by the German Powers in 1849. Basic convictions and practices of democracy were institutionalised and transformed into political culture, which shaped post-revolutionary Germany. The National Assembly had proven its determination to create a constitutional order based on parliamentary government. For the elected representatives, practising democracy in parliament meant giving up the ideal of an independent vote and getting accustomed to party discipline. The chapter further contends that such fundamental experiences of parliamentarism were communicated and transferred into transnational standards of representative democracy in Europe.