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Cristiana Senigaglia
In this article, Cristiana Senigaglia shows how Max Weber, who had withdrawn from public political debate in the years before 1914, was impelled by the war to re-engage with politics. He did this in respect of a number of specific issues, like unrestricted submarine warfare, or policies of annexation, where he urged restraint in the interest of achieving a rapid negotiated peace, which would asure German security in the postwar world. In general he urged the need for radical re-thinking so that Germany could break away from Bismarck's legacy in international affairs. On internal affairs, Weber argued strongly for the full democratization of German politics through the creation of a parliamentary democracy. This must be based on universal suffrage, and responsibility of government and its agencies to the people, through comprehensive parliamentary scrutiny of their actions. But he also argued, in the light of wartime experience, for special arrangements for the handling of foreign policy, involving some modification of full democratic control. As he saw it, unrestricted public discussion of foreign policy issues was inappropriate and at times positively harmful. He suggested special arrangements for responsible political leaders, based in parliament, to be able to consider such issues, sheltered from the glare of publicity. This was a necessary condition for pursuing the confidential negotiations between states, through diplomacy, which he saw as the only means of achieving lasting agreements. Weber's proposals had little practical impact while the war continued, but had a role in the post-war debates about establishing the Weimar Republic.
