Comparative Study of U.S. and West German Political Finance Regulation: The Question of Contribution Controls

The role of money in politics is of almost universal concern in Western representative democracies. Each nation addresses different considerations and has devised various means with which to regulate the political financing process. Against this framework, the Note examines the regulations and controls in the United States and West Germany. While the United States has developed an extensive body of regulations designed to strictly control political contributions, West Germany has only certain disclosure requirements of contributions greater than a specified amount. The Note concludes with an analysis of both systems and their respective concerns