Once again—never before—too late: Competing modalities of temporal comparison in German politics (1790–1945)

Comparisons across historical times can appear in various shapes. Apart from simple then/now contrasts, three basic modalities may be distinguished: (1) Comparisons that stress similarity and repeatability (“once again”), (2) comparisons that claim absolute novelty, if not incommensurability between present and past (“never before”), and (3) comparisons that suggest a time lag between two entities which, although synchronous in calendar time, appear nonsynchronous in other respects (“too late”/“not yet”/“far ahead”). Relying on a broad range of comparison-performing utterances by leading politicians and observers, this article will assess the conjunctures of those three modalities of temporal comparison in 19th- and 20th-century German politics. Prima facie, one might expect an increase in the use of novelty claims (“never before”) and comparisons of the “too late”-type in that period of frequent upheavals. By contrast, the “once again”-variant should be declining because it builds on the historia magistra vitae topos which, according to Reinhart Koselleck, was dissolved in the post-1789 age of revolution. However, there is abundant evidence to show that historical examples and analogies continued to play a significant role all through the 19th and 20th centuries, whereas allegations of absolute novelty or of being too late remained limited to situations of imminent crisis. Even though the examples presented in this article refer to Germany’s special case, it will be argued that the pattern is typical for Western modernity at large: Modern political rhetoric and action are characterized not by one dominant regime, but a copresence of all three—competing—modalities of temporal comparison.

German Politics and Intergovernmental Negotiations on the Eurozone Budget

This article examines selected political party positions on a Eurozone budget and fiscal transfers between 2018 and 2021. It posits that German government positions on common European debt and fiscal policy have undergone a significant but fragile shift. It must contend with continued domestic hostility before it can be said to be a lasting realignment. A great deal with depend less on the Social Democratic Party that is largely responsible for bringing it about with the support of German Greens, and more on the willingness of the Christian Democratic Union, their Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union and the German voting public to adopt a more interventionist fiscal policy as well, generating shared commitments to economic policy at home and in Europe. That has not happened yet.

The (Ir)Resistible Rise of the Other ‘68ers

The book’s final chapter traces how many of the protagonists of this book became a major public phenomenon around the time that Helmut Kohl was elected Chancellor in 1982. It charts the other ‘68ers’ short ‘march through the institutions’ and assesses their programmatic, strategic, and cultural impact on the CDU from the 1970s into the 1980s. Second, it analyses the role that commemorations of 1968 and generational claims played in their rise to public prominence. It shows that the other ‘68ers helped to shape memories of the student movement in important ways and, from the 1980s into the early 2000s, were key players in the memory wars about how exactly 1968 had transformed West German politics and society.

Fortschritt durch sozialen Liberalismus

Friedrich Naumann (1860–1919) is one of the most exciting figures in German politics: a liberal champion of democracy, social policy, women’s emancipation and church reform, as well as a pioneer of political education—and at the same time a monarchist, patriot and fierce critic of his time. Many political and social trends of the early 20th century came together in the pastor and later leftist liberal party leader. His approaches to solving the problems of a highly industrialised society had a long-lasting effect and still evoke controversy when discussed today. This volume offers both an introduction to and new perspectives on his world of ideas; it is aimed at experts, students and all those interested in Naumann in equal measure. With contributions by Philippe Alexandre, Birgit Bublies-Godau, Norbert Friedrich, Jürgen Frölich, Ewald Grothe, Christoph Jahr, Wolther von Kieseritzky, Ursula Krey, Frank-Michael Kuhlemann, Anne C. Nagel, Ulrich Sieg, Ines Soldwisch and Peter Theiner.