Jahrbuch zur Liberalismus-Forschung

The controversy surrounding Bismarck’s Bill of Indemnity 150 years ago is regarded as the catalyst for intense, protracted debates among liberals about the primacy of ‘realpolitik’ and ‘idealpolitik’. Guided by key political factors, the authors of the studies in this collection do not only analyse these debates in terms of German history, such as in A. Biefang’s study of the foundation of the German Empire, W.E. Becker’s examination of Hitler’s Enabling Act of 1933, V. Conze’s analysis of the unification of Europe and G. Bökenkamp’s insights into West Germany’s change of government (Wende) in 1982. D. Mares’s study of the British Empire, M. Berg’s analysis of Wilson’s foreign policy and Ph. Alexandre’s study of France’s policy of appeasement ensure the collection has an international dimension, while G. Hübinger’s evaluation of Max Weber and his close contemporaries concludes this volume’s main focus. Eleven other essays deal with Max von Baden’s chancellorship, Weimar democrats’ reception of the USA, Weimar liberals’ situation after 1933, liberalism in Israel and present the findings of new research into the Liberal Democratic Party in the GDR, among other subjects.