Reaching from the Atlantic to Ukraine, from the Baltic to the Mediterranean, the revolutions of 1848 brought millions of people across the European continent into political life. Nationalist aspirations, social issues and feminist demands coming to the fore in the mid-century revolutions would reverberate in continental Europe until 1914 and beyond. Yet the new regimes established then proved ephemeral, succumbing to counter-revolution. In this second edition, Jonathan Sperber has updated and expanded his study of the European Revolutions between 1848–1851. Emphasizing the socioeconomic background to the revolutions, and the diversity of political opinions and experiences of participants, the book offers an inclusive narrative of the revolutionary events and a structural analysis of the reasons for the revolutions' ultimate failure. A wide-reaching conclusion and a detailed bibliography make the book ideal both for classroom use and for a general reader wishing a better knowledge of
Although the German Empire of 1871–1918 was basically an authoritarian regime, its national elections were held under a democratic franchise and characterized by vigorous election campaigning and high levels of voter turnout. In The Kaiser's Voters, Jonathan Sperber uses advanced mathematical methods to analyze the thirteen general elections held in pre-1914 Germany. These results are, however, presented in understandable, non-technical language making it suitable for those with no technical background. Refuting a number of long-held propositions about the nature of the electorate in Imperial Germany, he presents a new interpretation of voting behaviour in the formative years of the modern German political system, considers its consequences for German electoral politics in the twentieth century, and compares electoral trends in Germany with those in other European and North American countries in the age of universal suffrage.
Focusing on an area roughly equivalent to the contemporary state of North Rhine-Westphalia, this description of popular religious life between 1830 and 1880 revises established postitions of German hi
The second half of the nineteenth century was an era of relative tranquillity and progress It was an age of free acquisition and disposition of private property among individuals and families, in a ph
Cover the major political events of this turbulent period and examines the lives or ordinary people and considers broad social and economic developments. Covers four major themes: the economic respon
Jonathan Sperber’s Revolutionary Europe, 1780 – 1850 is a history of Europe in the age of the French Revolution, from the end of the old regime to the outcome of the revolutions of 1848. Fully revised
Jonathan Sperber’s Revolutionary Europe, 1780 – 1850 is a history of Europe in the age of the French Revolution, from the end of the old regime to the outcome of the revolutions of 1848. Fully revised
Between his birth in 1818 and his death sixty-five years later, Karl Marx became one of Western civilization’s most influential political philosophers. Two centuries on, he is still revered as a proph
This biography of the philosopher and political revolutionary describes his childhood and family life along with his public life as an agitator and dissident and compares him to his contemporaries inc
A panoramic view of global history from the end of World War Two to the dawn of the new millennium, and a portrait of an age of unprecedented transformation. In this ambitious, groundbreaking, and sweeping work, Jonathan Sperber guides readers through six decades of global history, from the end of World War Two to the onset of the new millennium. As Sperber's immersive and propulsive book reveals, the defining quality of these decades involved the risingand unstoppable flow of people, goods, capital, and ideas across boundaries, continents, and oceans, creating prosperity in some parts of the world, destitution in others, increasing a sense of collective responsibility while also reinforcing nationalism and xenophobia. It was an age oftransformation in every realm of human existence: from relations with nature to relations between and among nations, superpowers to emerging states; from the forms of production to the foundations of religious faith. These changes took place on an
The years 1800-1871 were a crucial formative phase of modern German history. This volume, written by an international team of experts, provides a comprehensive overview of the era. It includes a narr
The events of 1989/90 in Europe demonstrated the renewed relevance of the mid-nineteenth century uprisings: both by showing, once again, how a revolutionary initiative could quickly spread through dif
