Recasting Bourgeois Europe [Elektronische Ressource] stabilization in France, Germany, and Italy in the decade after World War I

The author, one of the most prominent contemporary scholars of European history, published this, his first book, in 1975. Based on extensive archival research, the book examines how European societies progressed from a moment of social vulnerability to one of political and economic stabilization. Arguing that a common trajectory calls for a multi country analysis, the book provides a comparative history of three European nations—France, Germany, and Italy—and argues that they did not simply return to a prewar status quo, but achieved a new balance of state authority and interest group representation. While most previous accounts presented the decade as a prelude to the Depression and dictatorships, the author suggests that the stabilization of the 1920s, vulnerable as it was, foreshadowed the more enduring political stability achieved after World War II. The immense and ambitious scope of this book, its ability to follow diverse histories in detail, and its effort to explain stabilization—and not just revolution or breakdown—have made it a classic of European history. CONTENTS Preface to the 2016 Reprinting Preface to the 1988 Reprinting Preface Abbreviations Introduction: From Bourgeois to Corporatist Europe PART I: THE CONTAINMENT OF THE LEFT Chapter 1: The Dimensions of Social Conflict at the End of World War I The Language of Class Anxiety (1900−1925) Elites―Resilient and Vulnerable Business Accommodation in Germany and France Chapter 2: Politics among the Victors: Issues and Elections in November 1919 Bourgeois Cohesion in France Bourgeois Disarray in Italy Chapter 3: The Limits of Economic Restructuring The Evolution of Leftist Objectives Strategies of Bourgeois Defense The Coal Crisis PART II: THE FAILURE OF THE PARLIAMENTARY CENTER Chapter 4: The Politics of Reparation The Wager on "FuIfillment" Reparation, Taxes, and the Demands of German Heavy Industry The Bankruptcy of Moderation (1922) Chapter 5: The Attrition of the Liberal Regime in Italy The Political Ecology of Fascism From Giolitti to Mussolini: The Liberals' Search for Order PART Ill: PATHS TOWARD CORPORATIST STABILITY Chapter 6: Between Nationalism and Corporatism: The Ruhr Conflict Inflation, Social Democracy, and the Challenge to Sovereignty in Germany Corporatist Forces versus Poincaré and Stresemann Chapter 7: Majorities without Mandates: Issues and Elections in the Spring of 1924 The Limits of Mussolini's Majority The Limits of Social Democratic Eclipse The Limits of the Cartel des Gauches Chapter 8: Achieving Stability Inflation, Revaluation, and the Decomposition of Parliamentary Politics Iron, Steel, and the International Organization of Capitalism Corporative State in Corporatist Europe Conclusion: The Structure and Limits of Stability Bibliography Index Charles Maier, one of the most prominent contemporary scholars of European history, published Recasting Bourgeois Europe as his first book in 1975. Based on extensive archival research, the book examines how European societies progressed from a moment of social vulnerability to one of political and economic stabilization. Arguing that a common trajectory calls for a multi country analysis, Maier provides a comparative history of three European nations and argues that they did not simply return to a prewar status quo, but achieved a new balance of state authority and interest group representation. While most previous accounts presented the decade as a prelude to the Depression and dictatorships, Maier suggests that the stabilization of the 1920s, vulnerable as it was, foreshadowed the more enduring political stability achieved after World War II. The immense and ambitious scope of this book, its ability to follow diverse histories in detail, and its effort to explain stabilization—and not just revolution or breakdown—have made it a classic of European history. Charles S. Maier. One Of Princeton University Press's Notable Centenary Titles--cover Page 4. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 595-607) And Index.