German Thought and International Relations

German Thought and International Relations

Palgrave Studies in International Relations Series General Editors: Knud Erik Jørgensen, Department of Political Science, University of Aarhus, Denmark Audie Klotz, Department of Political Science, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, USA Palgrave Studies in International Relations, produced in association with the ECPR Standing Group for International Relations, will provide students and scholars with the best theoretically-informed scholarship on the global issues of our time. Editedby Knud Erik Jørgensen and Audie Klotz, this new book series will comprise cutting-edge monographs and edited collections which bridge schools of thought and cross the boundaries of conventional fields of study. Titles include: Cornelia Navari (editor) THEORISING INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY English School Methods Robbie Shilliam GERMAN THOUGHT AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS The Rise and Fall of a Liberal Project Palgrave Studies In International Relations Series Series Standing Order ISBN 978-0-230-20063-0 You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and the ISBN quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England

German Thought and International Relations The Rise and Fall of a Liberal Project Robbie Shilliam Lecturer in International Relations Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

Robbie Shilliam 2009 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2009 978-0-230-22422-3 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication maybemade without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2009 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is theglobal academic imprint of theabove companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-30918-4 ISBN 978-0-230-23415-4 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9780230234154 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Shilliam, Robbie, 1969 German thought and international relations : the rise and fall of a liberal project / Robbie Shilliam. p. cm. (Palgrave studies in international relations series) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Political science Germany History. 2. Philosophy, German. 3. Liberalism Germany. 4. Germany Politics and government. I. Title. JA84.G3S55 2009 327.101 dc22 2008052861 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09

Contents Acknowledgments vii Part I 1 Introduction 3 The liberal project and realist politics in context 3 The context of knowledge production 10 A framework for interrogating the international dimension of social transformation 13 German backwardness in context 20 2 1789: The Revolution of Backwardness 30 Introduction 30 Enclosure and the creation of the capitalist subject 32 Comparative backwardness: France and Britain in the colonial contest 37 The process of substitution: The creation of the Jacobin subject 43 The results of substitution: Terror and the citizen-soldier 48 Conclusion 55 Part II 3 Kant s Corporate Enlightenment 59 Introduction 59 Frederick the Great s enlightened absolutism 62 Cameralism and the limits of corporate governance 65 The Aufklärung a corporate affair 68 Kant s corporate Enlightenment 71 Kant and the post-revolutionary world 75 Toward the Frenchdeluge 83 Conclusion 85 4 Hegel s Revolution of Philosophy 88 Introduction 88 Aufhebung: Social transformation with an international dimension? 91 v

vi Contents Deutschtum or Bildung? The battle over reform 102 Geist as a consciousness of backwardness 110 Hegel s last challenge 114 Conclusion 117 5 Interlude: Vormärz 119 The fracturing of the Bürgertum 119 Floundering reform 122 Failed revolution 124 6 Weber s Realpolitik 127 Introduction 127 Realpolitik: Liberalism for a post-revolutionary era 130 White Revolution: Monarchism for a post-monarchical era 134 A new vocation of science 143 Bismarck s legacy: Weber s solution 150 Charisma: A spiritual antidote to arrested development 152 Realpolitik as a vocation 156 Weber s value comparison across cultures 158 Conclusion 162 Part III 7 Epilogue: Weimar 167 Anation-in-arms? 167 Constitutionalism and Jacobinism 169 From Jacobin to Führer 172 The Nazist impersonal collective 174 8 Morgenthau s Existential Crisis 177 Introduction 177 Existential crisis in the Weimar Republic 179 Morgenthau in Weimar and beyond 182 The political philosophy of a conservative liberal 185 Legacies of a consciousness of backwardness 190 Bildung in America 193 9 Conclusion 199 Notes 204 Bibliography 218 Index 247

Acknowledgments This book was initially written as a DPhil thesis at the University of Sussex supervised by Beate Jahn and Justin Rosenberg. To them I owe a weighty intellectual debt; over a number of years they have generously shared with me their considerable expertise in political thoughtandhistorical sociology. Julian Saurin also played an important part in the early development of this thesis, pushing me to communicate my position and raising historical and philosophical issues that will engage me for a long time to come. Benno Teschke and Michael Williams examined the original thesis in an exhaustive fashion. The further development of the thesis thus owes another significant debt tothe comments and critiques of my examiners. Jeppe Strandsbjerg, Kamran Matin and Gurminder Bhambra provided quality comments on and critiques of my further drafts. One anonymous reviewer provided helpful advice on the presentation of the argument. Iamfortunate in that when writing this book I was surrounded by a further community of scholars, all of whom influenced me intellectually: (in no particular order) John Maclean, Zdenek Kavan, Alex Colas, Rick Saull, Kees Van der Pijl, Ronan Palan, Adam Morton, Sean Molloy, John Holmwood, Andrew Chitty, Sam Knafo, Branwen Gruffydd Jones, Siba Grovogui, George Lawson, Naeem Inayatullah, Andrew Hurrell, Max Pensky, Tim di Muzio, Adrienne Roberts, Mike Drymoussis, Earl Gammon, Clemens Hoffman, Rahel Kunz, Johnna Montgomerie, Or Raviv, Duncan Wigan, Mihnea Panu and Raluca Parvu. I thank the editors at Palgrave Alexandra Webster, Knud Erik Joergensen and Audie Klotz for their generous and professional support. With regards to practical and spiritual support I am entirely indebted to my friends and my family, especially for the untiring support of my wife, Cynthia Mathonsi. vii