The paper applies structural choice theory to Germany and its Weberian bureaucracy with its special emphasis on formal demarcations of responsibilities. It is based upon recent findings on policy agendas and a novel dataset mapping the structural changes inside the German federal direct administration from 1990 to 2014, using data from task allocation plans displaying the legislative responsibilities of departmental units. It analyses the structural evolution of internal portfolio organisation and combines this analysis with insights on the policy agenda of federal governments since German reunification. The empirical analysis
shows that distinct units have been created and/or modified before their area of responsibility became an issue in Parliament whereas other issues gained 'departmental structural relevance' only after they appeared on the legislative agenda.
