An examination of Germany's shift from authoritarian values to democratic principles during the modern era.

Across the modern era, the traditional stereotype of Germans as authoritarian and subservient has faded, as they have become (mostly) model democrats. This book, for the first time, examines 130 years of history to comprehensively address the central questions of German democratization: How and why did this process occur? What has democracy meant to various Germans? And how stable is their, or indeed anyone’s, democracy? Looking at six German regimes across thirteen decades, this study enables you to see how and why some Germans have always chosen to be politically active (even under dictatorships); the enormous range of conceptions of political culture and democracy they have held; and how interactions among various factors undercut or facilitated democracy at different times. Michael L. Hughes also makes clear that recent surges of support for ‘populism’ and ‘authoritarianism’ have not come out of nowhere but are inherent in long-standing contestations about democracy and political citizenship. Hughes argues that democracy – in Germany or elsewhere – cannot be a story of adversity overcome which culminates in a happy ending; it is an ongoing, open-ended process whose ultimate outcome remains uncertain.

"Embracing Democracy will reach far beyond those interested in Germany, especially at a moment when the paradoxes of actually-existing democracy are laid so bare across the world. Synthesizing the most compelling literatures across vastly different regimes, Hughes then offers a significant original account of the innumerable faces and protean character of democracy. An important read for specialists and broad audiences alike." - Belinda Davis, Professor of History, Rutgers University, USA.

"This is a very timely book in the face of current challenges to liberal democracies in Germany as elsewhere. Michael L. Hughes gives us a fascinating depiction of competing concepts of democratic thought and government in the course of Germany’s varied political history since the creation of the German Empire up to our time. By setting political ideas and practices in the cultural and social context of their time, this very readable book in fact provides one of the best concise surveys of Germany’s history. Both experts and the public at large will find this book highly interesting and thought provoking." - Martin H. Geyer, Professor of Modern and Contemporary History, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany