The Kaiser's Voters
Electors and Elections in Imperial Germany

An analysis of the voting patterns and behaviour in the thirteen general elections held in pre-1914 Germany.

Jonathan Sperber (Author)

9780521591386, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 11 September 1997

404 pages, 100 tables
23.6 x 16.1 x 3.1 cm, 0.781 kg

"...absorbing reading. It offers a powerfully argued, revisionist account of the imperial electorate and its behavior that combines analytical rigor with unpretentious clarity." Margaret Lavinia Anderson, Centeral European history

Although the German Empire of 1871–1918 was basically an authoritarian regime, its national elections were held under a democratic franchise and characterized by vigorous election campaigning and high levels of voter turnout. In The Kaiser's Voters, Jonathan Sperber uses advanced mathematical methods to analyze the thirteen general elections held in pre-1914 Germany. These results are, however, presented in understandable, non-technical language making it suitable for those with no technical background. Refuting a number of long-held propositions about the nature of the electorate in Imperial Germany, he presents a new interpretation of voting behaviour in the formative years of the modern German political system, considers its consequences for German electoral politics in the twentieth century, and compares electoral trends in Germany with those in other European and North American countries in the age of universal suffrage.

List of tables
List of figures
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part I. The Parties: 1. The Social Democrats
2. The minority parties
3. The 'national' parties
Part II. The Elections: 4. The Bismarckian elections
5. The Wilhelmine elections
6. A century of democratic elections
Appendix
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], European history [HBJD]