Gregor Schollgen Professor of Modern History,University of Erlangen

'... a masterful synthesis of his entire oeuvre, answering various critics, especially those who charged him with ignoring military factors.'German Studies Review

• Introduction - the theme reflected in recent German research, G. Schollgen; the foreign policy of imperial Germany and the outbreak of the First World War, F. Fischer; the foreign policy of imperial Germany and the outbreak of the war in the historiography of the GDR, W. Gutsche; a nation state against history and geography - the German dilemma, M. Sturmer; opportunities and limits of German foreign policy in the Bismarckian era, 1871-1890 - a system of stopgaps?, K. Hildebrand; Germany's reaction to the globalization of international relations, 1890-1898 - a different course, R. Pommerin; the German version of imperialism, 1898-1914 - Weltpolitik, I. Geiss; Germany's foreign policy in the age of imperialism - a vicious circle?, G. Schollgen; contradictory postures and conflicting objectives - the July crisis, G. Schmidt; the historical significance of the First World War - a seminal catastrophe, A. Hillgruber.