An unintended key indicator: The emergence of the Königstein Key in German federalism

This article conceptualizes key indicators as institutionalized measures that are used collectively, have acquired a conventional symbolic meaning, and are of structural relevance for at least one social field. While such indicators are often assumed to be intentionally designed, we highlight unintentional emergent formation processes as a plausible and underexplored explanation. Emergent indicator formation is a process through which numbers gain practical relevance in decision-making first and are attributed symbolic meaning only afterward in public disputes. Empirically, the article presents the case of the Königstein Key, which is technically an additive index of intuitively intelligible states’ features that has become a key indicator in diverse allocation schemes of German federalism. We propose an explanatory model of an emergent, unintended formation process based on three arguments: predisposing features of the indicator itself, proven practical use, and the accrual of normative interpretations in political and public discourse. Its initial adoption in contentious negotiations about horizontal federal burden-sharing later facilitated its pragmatic adoption in various new tasks. In the course of its institutionalization as a standard instrument, interpretations in highly politicized public situations translated it into a rather generalized symbol of territorial justice at the national level. Several test situations during its trajectory reveal constitutive features of this key indicator that could also inform intentional indicator design.