Kaiser's Voters

Although the German Empire of 1871–1918 was basically an authoritarian regime, its national elections were held under a democratic franchise and characterized by vigorous election campaigning and high levels of voter turnout. In The Kaiser's Voters, Jonathan Sperber uses advanced mathematical methods to analyze the thirteen general elections held in pre-1914 Germany. These results are, however, presented in understandable, non-technical language making it suitable for those with no technical background. Refuting a number of long-held propositions about the nature of the electorate in Imperial Germany, he presents a new interpretation of voting behaviour in the formative years of the modern German political system, considers its consequences for German electoral politics in the twentieth century, and compares electoral trends in Germany with those in other European and North American countries in the age of universal suffrage.

"...a most impressive and welcome piece of scholarship..." Choice, "Sperber has written a provacative book that should cause everyone who teaches the history of Imperial Germany to revise one or more lectures." James C. Albisetti, German Studies Review, "This interesting book combines the methods of history and political science to offer a new interpretation of politics during the Second Empire. Sperber gives readers new insights into Wilhelmine Germany and lays the basis for important future work." Carole Elizabeth Adams, Journal of Interdisciplinary History, "This is an important work, replete with revisionist insight, which serious students of German politics simply must read. Written by one of the most distinguished and prolific scholars of nineteenth-century Germany, the book advances new ways of looking at the success and failure of German parties as well as suggesting hitherto overlooked features of the party system." Helmut Walser Smith, American Historical Review, "...absorbing reading. It offers a powerfully argued, revisionist account of the imperial electorate and its behavior that combines analytical rigor with unpretentious clarity." Margaret Lavinia Anderson, Centeral European history