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The First World War marked the end point of a process of German globalization that began in the 1870s, well before Germany acquired a colonial empire or extensive overseas commercial interests. Structured around the figures of five influential economists who shaped the German political landscape, Learning Empire explores how their overseas experiences shaped public perceptions of the world and Germany's place in it. These men helped define a German liberal imperialism that came to influence the 'world policy' (Weltpolitik) of Kaiser Wilhelm, Chancellor Bülow, and Admiral Tirpitz. They devised naval propaganda, reshaped Reichstag politics, were involved in colonial and financial reforms, and helped define the debate over war aims in the First World War. Looking closely at German worldwide entanglements, Learning Empire recasts how we interpret German imperialism, the origins of the First World War, and the rise of Nazism, inviting reflection on the challenges of globalization in the current century.
Highlights Germany's entanglement with the world since the 1870s, particularly the importance of the United States, Japan, and China in the development of German imperialism
Recasts the pre-war imperial rivalries between Germany and the other great powers as a response to the challenges of global trade, investment, and migration
Connects German liberal imperialism with German war aims and with the interwar German right and National Socialism, to explain why 'the German question' was resolved after 1945, but not after 1918
Introduction
Part I. Absent-Minded Empire, 1875–1897:
1. Frontier empire: the United States
2. Island empire: Japan
3. World economy: China and Venezuela
Part II. Empire Imagined, 1897–1907:
4. World policy
5. The High Seas Fleet and power politics
6. National efficiency and the new mercantilism
7. Formal and informal empire
8. Empire in crisis
Part III. Empire Lost, 1908–1919:
9. Colonial dreams
10. World policy contained
11. From world policy to world war
12. War aims, peace resolutions, and defeat
Epilogue.
Description
The First World War marked the end point of a process of German globalization that began in the 1870s, well before Germany acquired a colonial empire or extensive overseas commercial interests. Structured around the figures of five influential economists who shaped the German political landscape, Learning Empire explores how their overseas experiences shaped public perceptions of the world and Germany's place in it. These men helped define a German liberal imperialism that came to influence the 'world policy' (Weltpolitik) of Kaiser Wilhelm, Chancellor Bülow, and Admiral Tirpitz. They devised naval propaganda, reshaped Reichstag politics, were involved in colonial and financial reforms, and helped define the debate over war aims in the First World War. Looking closely at German worldwide entanglements, Learning Empire recasts how we interpret German imperialism, the origins of the First World War, and the rise of Nazism, inviting reflection on the challenges of globalization in the current century.
Highlights Germany's entanglement with the world since the 1870s, particularly the importance of the United States, Japan, and China in the development of German imperialism
Recasts the pre-war imperial rivalries between Germany and the other great powers as a response to the challenges of global trade, investment, and migration
Connects German liberal imperialism with German war aims and with the interwar German right and National Socialism, to explain why 'the German question' was resolved after 1945, but not after 1918
