CONSTITUTIONAL CONTINUITY? A COMPARISON OF THE INTEGRATION OF THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC INTO THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY (1990) AND OF HAWAII INTO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (1959) WITH RESPECT TO ENTELECHY

Authors : Markus Johannes Theodorus Schrijer

Pages : 425-446

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Publication Date : 2026-01-23

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This article undertakes a comparative constitutional analysis of two historically and culturally distinct processes of territorial integration: the 1990 accession of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) to the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the 1959 incorporation of Hawaii into the United States of America (USA). While the contexts differ substantially, both cases illuminate broader questions concerning popular sovereignty, self-determination, and the constitutional mechanisms through which political communities absorb new territories and populations. The study examines how the German Basic Law and the U.S. Constitution, as preexisting normative frameworks, responded to transformative changes in the composition and boundaries of their respective political communities. In Germany, the Basic Law\\\'s provisional character (Art. 146) and its provisions for territorial expansion (Art. 23 - old version) permitted unification either through a new constituent process or through formal continuity. In the Hawaiian case, U.S. constitutional doctrine – particularly Congress’s broad discretion under the Admissions Clause – facilitated incorporation largely as an act of political will, with limited substantive realization of the Hawaiian people’s right to self-determination. The article argues that in both cases the integrated populations exercised only a passive, constituted power rather than an active, constituent one, as they did not collectively author or adopt the constitutional order to which they became subject. This reveals structural deficits in democratic legitimacy, especially where power asymmetries and constrained choice shaped the integration process. Drawing on Aristotle’s concept of entelechy (ἐντελέχεια), the article further contends that constitutional identity should be understood as an ongoing, self-realizing process rather than as a static inheritance. The conclusion calls for constitutions to incorporate not only mechanisms for amendment but also a normative commitment to continuous constitutional self-development, ensuring that the sovereign people remain active participants in shaping their evolving political order.
Keywords : ABD, ABD Anayasası, katılma, Federal Almanya Cumhuriyeti, Alman Demokratik Cumhuriyeti, yeniden birleşme, Temel Yasa, katılım, ilhak, anayasal devamlılık, entelechia, Hawaii

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