Power transition theory and the peculiar case of Weimarian Germany

Abstract: "For power transition theory (PTT) Germany offers a crucial case. Three wars initiated by Germany/ Prussia (the War of 1870/71, World War I and World War II) are among the chief vindications of PTTs central insight, that power transitions are prone to great power wars. In all three instances, Germany/Prussia was not only a rising power but also dissatisfied with the prevalent international order just as PTT expects. However, between 1870 and 1939 there are two further periods in which Germany reached parity with the dominant power in the 1920s. Peace prevailed according to PTT because Germany was satisfied with the status quo of the international order at the time. In this working paper, I will inquire into the Weimar Republics satisfaction status and show that PTT's standard argument claiming that Germany was satisfied is problematic. I argue that to bring the Weimar case in line with PTT it is necessary to adjust PTT in two ways: a) to discard the notion of satisfaction as a dich

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource, 22 S.
• Language: Englisch
• Notes: Veröffentlichungsversion

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: PRIF Working Papers ; Bd. 28

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Politik

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (where): Frankfurt am Main
• (when): 2016
• Creator: Rauch, Carsten
• Contributor: Hessische Stiftung Friedens- und Konfliktforschung

Further information

• URN: urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-462152
• Rights: Open Access unbekannt; Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:38 AM CEST