What role do political foundations play in Germany?

The political parties in Germany are among the key pillars of democracy and the important role they play in the formation of the population’s will is enshrined in the Basic Law The Basic Law The Basic Law determines that Germany is a constitutional state: All state authorities are subject to judicial control. Section 1 of the Basic Law is of particular relevance. It stipulates that respect for human dignity is the most important aspect of the constitution: “Human dignity shall be… Read more › . Political foundations are organisations that are affiliated to the parties but legally and de facto independent. They make a key contribution to social and democratic education activities and are an important part of the political culture in Germany. Their services are available to everyone.

There are six political foundations in Germany that are affiliated to the parties represented in the Bundestag The Bundestag The Bundestag is made up of the elected representatives of the German people. In principle elections to the Bundestag are proportionally representative, with each party’s share of the vote in the election reflecting the number of seats it occupies in the parliament. But the electoral system also… Read more › and financed out of the federal budget:

• the SPD-affiliated Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES)
• the CDU-affiliated Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS)
• the CSU-affiliated Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung (HSS)
• the FDP-affiliated Friedrich Naumann Foundation for freedom (FNF)
• the Alliance 90/The Greens-affiliated Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung (HBS)
• the Left Party-affiliated Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (RLS)

Generally speaking, political foundations pursue activities in three main areas: civic education, funding of studies and research and consulting. In addition, they engage in international cooperation, especially with countries in the Global South.

Social and democratic education is the core remit of political foundations. This is aimed at providing knowledge and orientation, and at encouraging and empowering people to engage in civic and political activities. Political foundations enter into contact with citizens by staging lectures, conferences, colloquiums and discussions, and by publishing magazines, books and online publications. The information they provide is objective and they offer a platform for political discourse.

The funding provided by political foundations for academic study follows the same principles and rules as those used by other talent funding organisations that support outstanding students. Funding is equally open to students and postgraduates from abroad, especially from countries of the Global South.

Political foundations also pursue research and consulting activities in the areas of political studies and the social sciences, for example by conducting studies on all kinds of different topics. To this end, they collaborate in some cases with other research institutions. They fund or commission scientific work and support its publication. They also maintain renowned archives, libraries and documentation centres. In this way, foundations foster dialogue and knowledge transfer between civil society, science, politics and business.

First and foremost, Germany’s political foundations are involved in international development cooperation with the countries of the Global South. However, they are also active for example in Europe and North America.

In the area of development cooperation, the foundations act in the capacity of German non-government organisations. As a rule, they collaborate with partner organisations at the local level, such as civil society actors, political parties Political parties According to the Basic Law it is the task of the political parties to participate in political will formation by the people. As such, putting forward candidates for political office and the organization of election campaigns both have the status of constitutional tasks. For this reason the parties… Read more › or unions. The foundations are especially committed to establishing and strengthening democratic structures and institutions.

Political foundations are independent and non-profit organisations that receive more than 90 percent of their funding from Germany’s federal budget. In addition, they receive grants from the federal states Federal states Germany is a federal state. Both the central federal government and the 16 federal states have independent areas of jurisdiction. The government in Berlin is responsible for foreign policy, European policy, defense, justice, employment, social affairs, tax and health. The federal states are… Read more › and, to a very small degree, generate their own revenues from participation fees and donations.