'Germany after 1890 became an increasingly autocratic state in which the personal influence of Kaiser Wilhelm II was decisive.' Explain why you agree or disagree with this statement.

... 'Germany after 1890 became an increasingly autocratic state in which the personal influence of Kaiser Wilhelm II was decisive.' Explain why you agree or disagree with this statement. Germany, from the beginning of Kaiser Wilhelm's reign in 1890 had become an increasingly autocratic state. There are many arguments for and against this, however it remains clear that the Kaiser did have unprecedented rule over the social, political and military aspects of the nation as a whole; he would be the highest-ranking official at the top of every hierarchy. There are however two main arguments for which it can be disputed that other groups had a higher level of power than the Kaiser in the Reich; The Structuralist argument (the 'Top-Down' argument and the 'Bottom-Up' argument) and also the 'International Relations' argument. These both challenge the traditional 'Individualist' argument that I will be examining firstly: The 'Individualist' argument demonstrates that the Kaiser had

want to read more? →