Reading History
1 total work
This account of the modern historiography of the German Second Empire concentrates in particular on the debates about Germany's "special path to modernity" (Sonderweg) and discusses the methodological assumptions and research strategies adopted by the many contributors to these debates. Individual chapters focus on the relationship between social structures and political development, the nature of the German state and its constitution, the evolution of the party and electoral systems, and the problems experienced in integrating the new nation-state. A final chapter addresses the problems facing those who wanted significant political reform before 1914 and the degree to which Germany was ungovernable on the eve of the outbreak of World War I. Combining a balanced account of the various strands of argument present in the literature and a critical analysis of interpretative problems that still remain to be solved, this is a guide through the complexities of its subject.