The German Idea of Militarism Radical and Socialist Critics 1866}}}1914 [Hardcover]

This 1994 book examines the development of the modern idea of militarism from the 1860s until the outbreak of World War I.As the arms race and the military-industrial complex displaced more traditional concerns about authoritarian rule, imperial Germany in fact witnessed a major controversy over the issue. This book examines the development of modern militarism from its inception until the outbreak of World War I.As the arms race and the military-industrial complex displaced more traditional concerns about authoritarian rule, imperial Germany in fact witnessed a major controversy over the issue. This book examines the development of modern militarism from its inception until the outbreak of World War I.This book examines the development of the modern idea of militarism from its inception in the 1860s until the outbreak of World War I. Often regarded as the archetypical militarist state, Imperial Germany in fact witnessed a major controversy over the issue, as the arms race and the military-industrial complex displaced more traditional concerns about authoritarian rule, and militarism gradually acquired its modern meaning. Older radical traditions and the impact of Marxism are reassessed as Nicholas Stargardt examines the political history of German Social Democracy, the principal anti-militarist protagonist.Introduction; Part I. The Anti-Militarist Tradition: 1. The Reich, democracy and cheap government; 2. National interest and national defence; 3. Karl Kautsky's theory of militarism; Part II. The New Militarism: 4. Karl Liebknecht and the end of democratic anti-militarism; 5. The economics of armament; 6. The turn to pacifism, 190714; Conclusion. The book is based on a wide variety of excellent sources, some in archives not usually consulted, such as the Brandenburg provincial archives, Potsdam, or the protocols of the Social Democratic party congresses. The notes are complete and useful. It is clearly written... Central European History Stargardt has written l#4