The Wilhelmian Weltpolitik in the Contemporary German Historiography – Two Excamples Cover Image

A vilmosi Weltpolitik a mai német történetírásban – két példa alapján
The Wilhelmian Weltpolitik in the Contemporary German Historiography – Two Excamples

Author(s): Gábor Szilágyi
Subject(s): Cultural history, Comparative history, Diplomatic history, Military history, Political history, Government/Political systems, 19th Century, Pre-WW I & WW I (1900 -1919), Interwar Period (1920 - 1939), Post-War period (1950 - 1989)
Published by: Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem, Új-és Jelenkori Egyetemes Történeti Tanszék
Keywords: Wilhelm II; Germany 1890–1914; Weltpolitik; Imerialism; Historiography;

Summary/Abstract: The article compares books written by two scholars dealing with Wil-helm II’s Weltpolitik before the First World War. Heinrich August Winkler’s works, published in 2000, remain within the framework which German historians had been elaborating for decades, pointing out the domestic reasons (internal frictions between agrarians and industrians, workers’ movement etc.) of offensive foreign policy. Andreas Rödder’s approach from the late 2010s focuses more on images and perceptions of Germans and German policy in and outside of Germany. Seen from today, Rödder’s work delivers a more plausible analysis of the international relations before the First World War; however, he also tends to homogenize the era and seems to neglect minor changes or developments within the scrutinized period.

  • Issue Year: 2018
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 337-350
  • Page Count: 14
  • Language: Hungarian