The German Idea of Militarism
Radical and Socialist Critics 1866–1914

This 1994 book examines the development of the modern idea of militarism from the 1860s until the outbreak of World War I.

Nicholas Stargardt (Author)

9780521420105, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 17 March 1994

248 pages, 10 b/w illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.7 cm, 0.54 kg

"...Nicholas Stargardt, author of The German Idea of Militarism, merits considerable praise. Stargardt goes classical intellectual history one better, however, by connecting the metamorphosis of the idea itself to physical as well as intellectual developments. ...the book is guranteed to stimulate the informed general reader and provide graduate seminars with ample material for any number of lively discussion." Antulio J. Echevarria, II, Jrnl of Military History

This 1994 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, which became a touchstone of political opposition. Issues like the arms race and the military-industrial complex displaced more traditional concerns about authoritarian rule, and militarism gradually acquired its modern meaning. The book is part of a wider discovery by historians of the way political identities and ideas intermeshed, contributing to the rise of civil society and new types of politics in modern Europe. The political history of the main protagonist of anti-militarism, German social democracy, is examined, as Nicholas Stargardt reveals the lasting influence of older radical traditions and reappraises the role played by its espousal of Marxism.

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, 1907–14
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: History of ideas [JFCX]