Sammlungspolitik was the term for a domestic policy of

Kaiser Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty ...

during his rule in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It means ''bringing together policy'' and its promoters aimed to unite the political parties and groups in favour of ''

Weltpolitik ''Weltpolitik'' (, "world politics") was the imperialist foreign policy adopted by the German Empire during the reign of Emperor Wilhelm II. The aim of the policy was to transform Germany into a global power. Though considered a logical consequ ...

'' (policy involving navy and colonial expansion) and also diminishing the ''Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands'' (SPD), which other parties pretended to take seriously as a revolutionary socialist party. Most parties supported ''Weltpolitik'' but in 1909 the navy budget became controversial. Instead of choosing to tax the rich, the government chose to increase sales tax (increasing the price of goods), which led to its sudden loss of support from parties like the ''Deutsche Zentrumspartei'' and the Liberals. In 1912 election, the SPD gained 112 seats, making it the largest party in the ''Reichstag''.

Structuralist

The Structuralist school of thought, led by

Hans-Ulrich Wehler Hans-Ulrich Wehler (September 11, 1931 – July 5, 2014) was a German left-liberal historian known for his role in promoting social history through the "Bielefeld School", and for his critical studies of 19th-century Germany. Life Wehler was bor ...

(who described ''Weltpolitik'' as the "manipulation process"), argued that Germany was not really controlled by the Kaiser but by the influence of four main groups in Germany, the

Junker Junker (, , , , , , ka, იუნკერი, ) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German , meaning 'young nobleman'Duden; Meaning of Junker, in German/ref> or otherwise 'young lord' (derivation of and ). The term is traditionally ...

s (landowners), the army, industrialists and right wing pressure groups.

Junkers

Junker influence had an institutional base in the Agrarian League (est. 1893). The Prussian electoral system favoured them and allowed them to control the government of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

. As Prussia was the largest state in the Empire, more Prussians were elected into the Bundesrat and these were mainly Junker. The

Prussian Junkers The Junkers ( ; ) were members of the landed nobility in Prussia. They owned great estates that were maintained and worked by peasants with few rights. These estates often lay in the countryside outside of major cities or towns. They were an impor ...

held 17 seats in the Bundesrat and 14 votes were needed for a

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

. This gave them power in the ''Bundesrat''. They used this power to block reforms that did not benefit them and to protect the interests of

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. "History, Modern British and European, publisher: Letts"

Army

The Army League of 1912 was created to advance the interests of the army and the part of the economy dependent on it. They exploited this to get 'favours' and as the Kaiser was head of the army a position he took very seriously and was obsessed by them, he filled the court with

generals A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. Ma ...

. It has been suggested by historians that during 1914 the army leaders had more influence than the

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

. The army used its influence to apply pressure on the ''Reichstag'' to pass the army bills of 1912 to 1913.

Industrialists

The Pan German League of 1891 tried to gain support for Wilhelm's ''Weltpolitik'' as a means of securing markets for Germany's manufactures and sources of raw materials. Their fear of socialism bound them to ''Weltpolitik'' as they hoped that the appeal to German nationalism would divert support from

Socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

Right-Wing Pressure Groups

The Kaiser had a strong

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

viewpoint due to his obsession with the army, which these groups could exploit to get their own views across.

References

{{reflist German words and phrases Political history of Germany Political terminology in Germany