Germany essay

Germany is one of the leading democratic countries of the world. Germany plays the leading part in the EU, while its economy is one of the leading economies of the world. At the same time, today, Germany is a democratic country where human rights and liberties are respected and where law rules. In this respect, it is worth mentioning the fact that Germany has undergone consistent transformations in the course of the 20^th century, when the country had to cope with effects of the Nazi and Communist regime. By the end of the 20^th century, Germany became the united country when democratic Western Germany was united with pro-communist Eastern Germany. The reunification of Germany marked the final turn of the united country toward democracy. Naturally, the respect of human rights and liberties creates favorable conditions for the development of business in Germany. No wonder, today, Germany is considered to be one of the most democratic and richest countries of the world, which became a Promised Land for many immigrants and an attractive market for foreign direct investments.

In actuality, Germany is characterized by the high respect of human rights and liberties. Unlike in the past, when Germany was under the rule of the Nazi and Communists, today, this country develops on the basis of democratic principles and values. Numerous reports on human rights practices reveal the fact that human rights and liberties are respected in Germany. This country does not violate human rights and liberties, although sometimes there occur cases, which may be interpreted as the violation of human rights. For instance, the 2004 Report on human rights practices in Germany draws the example when police may have been culpable in death of a man. However, such cases are exceptional and absolutely abnormal to Germany.

Reports on human rights practices in Germany are very helpful in understanding the current situation in Germany concerning human rights and liberties and their respect in Germany. As a rule, reports on human rights practices are well-structured and organized. They consist of several major sections: respect for human rights, including respect for the integrity of person; respect for civil liberties; respect for political rights, including the right of citizens to change their government; governmental attitude regarding international and nongovernmental investigation of alleged violation of human rights; discrimination, social abuses, and trafficking in persons; workers rights (2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices ”“ Germany, 2009).  In such a way, it is possible to get detailed information on the respect of human rights and liberties in Germany in different areas as well as it is possible to understand the extent to which democratic mechanisms work in Germany, for instance, through the analysis of the right of citizens to change their government. On analyzing reports on human rights practices in Germany, it is possible to estimate that the violation of human rights and liberties in Germany are exceptional and the country is democratic and liberal.

At the same time, the respect to human rights and liberties is very important for the development of business in a country. Therefore, reports on human rights practices can be very helpful since they allow to understand whether a country is democratic and whether it is possible to develop business in this country or not. In this respect, the corruption perception index is particularly important for business. It proves beyond a doubt that corruption can become a serious barrier on the way to the development of business because corruption naturally increases expenses of a company and, what is more important, corruption creates unequal competitive conditions. In other words, corruption is a direct threat to the fair competition that naturally makes the development of business in a country with a high corruption perception index very difficult.

In this respect, Germany is ranked 14 among the least corrupted countries. In this regard, leaders are Denmark, New Zealand, Sweden, Singapore, Finland, while the most corrupted countries are Afghanistan, Haiti, Iraq, Myanmar, Somalia (Galtung, 2006). Reports on human rights practices prove that corruption is rare in Germany and corruption practically does not affect the development of business in the country. Instead, the government attempts to create favorable conditions for the development of a highly competitive environment because, in such a way, the government stimulates completion, which, in its turn, contributes to the growth of the national economy of Germany. In addition, such policies stimulate foreign direct investments because foreign investors often prefer to invest in reliable countries, where their investments are secured and where they can work in a fair competitive environment. In actuality, the level of corruption in European countries is among the lowest and it is obvious that investments in democratic countries are more reliable due to the low level of corruption there.

In actuality, the analysis of reports on human rights practices and corruption perception index is very important because it helps to define countries which are reliable and not corrupted. Obviously, countries with the lower level of corruption, where human rights and liberties are respected, are the most attractive target markets, where companies can expand their business to. In fact, the respect to human rights and liberties is an essential condition that a company that develops its business in a country will not lose its property or will not be overtaken by an unfair competitor because of corrupted statesmen. At the same time, it is obvious that using reports on human rights practices and corruption perception index, it is possible to rank countries on the ground of potential risks on investments. But it is important to remember that high risks are often accompanied by high return on investments. In such a context, a company that is going to enter international markets can assess potential risks and potential benefits and make a decision on the basis of the analysis of reports on human rights practices and corruption perception index. In addition, the marketing analysis will be definitely needed in order to assess the local market and opportunities a company may have in this market.

Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, it is possible to conclude that the development of international business heavily relies not only on economic but also political and legal aspects. In actuality, the respect to human rights is probably as important as economic potential of target markets along with the corruption perception in a target country. In this respect, such countries as Germany are particularly attractive to investors because they are democratic, human rights and liberties are respected, while the level of corruption is low, while undemocratic countries cannot guarantee safety of investments and property of investors that makes such investments too risky.