Democracy in the Undemocratic State: The German Reichstag Elections of 1898 and 1903

by Brett T. Fairbairn

In Democracy in the Undemocratic State Brett Fairbairn offers a probing analysis of the pivotal Reichstag campaigns of 1898 and 1903. At the turn of the century the German party system showed signs of stress as the elites who directed the older, more established parties were confronted by the new populist appeals of both left and right. It was in this volatile political climate that the German Social Democratic Party experienced explosive growth. The elections of 1898 and 1903 were the turning points, as nationalists and governments tried to use Germany's new battlefleet and protectionist tariff to rally patriotic voters. However, as Fairbairn demonstrates, it was the opposition of the Social Democratic Party that scuttled the reigning parties' strategies, climaxing in its three million vote victory in 1903. Fairbairn challenges the popular misconception of Imperial Germany as a purely authoritarian state, and raises intriguing questions about how a modern, participatory democratic culture evolved under the undemocratic Kaiserreich. Based on original archival research, this study makes a significant contribution to historiographical debates and our understanding of turn-of-the-century electoral democracy.

408 pages, Hardcover

First published May 17, 1997