I am writing a final essay about Germany and need some details on the following question: There is strong evidence that Germany has a stable,...

An authoritarian government is one not answerable to the will of the people, as a democratic government is. Authoritarian governments, which usually take the form of dictatorships, place severe restrictions on civil liberties, including speech, press, and others. They allow no real criticism or debate, and often use state police and intelligence organizations to discipline and punish offenses against the state, which are often held to be treasonous. The totalitarian government of Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler is one of the most extreme examples of authoritarianism. Hitler's regime was based on terror and violence, and it used radio and other techniques to push itself into the lives of its subjects. While by definition anti-democratic, plenty of other authoritarian states have not been as brutal, ruthless, and aggressive as Nazi Germany, however. It is also the case that the type of a government is best understood on a continuum--some democratic governments are more authoritarian than others. That said, the disadvantages to this style of government should be clear. Not only does it not protect the liberties of the people, but it is to some extent founded on its opposition to these liberties. While people may favor the order they provide in some chaotic circumstances, the brutality with which many authoritarian systems impose order often defeat the purpose.

So it is a matter of debate whether Germany could return to an authoritarian government. Someone who argued that this was possible could point out that Germany had basically no history of democratic government before World War II, with the weak and ineffectual Weimar Republic quickly succumbing to authoritarianism. Authoritarian governments usually rise to power in response to crises, and there are of course no guarantees that some financial or political crisis could not inch Germany in the direction of authoritarianism. However, German government today is firmly democratic, and its culture has come to place a high value on tolerance. Germany has a relatively healthy social welfare system that is broadly supported by most of its people, and it seems unlikely at this point that it would take serious steps toward authoritarianism.