Transatlantic democracy in the twentieth century: transfer and transformation

Transatlantic democracy in the 20th century - this concept goes beyond the idea of an American civilizing mission in Europe after two World Wars, and certainly beyond the notion of re-educating Germans, and making them fit for Western institutions after Nazism. As democracy is being contested anew in the beginning of the 21st century, a much more complicated landscape of democracy since 1900 emerges. Transfer was not a one-way-street, and patterns of conflict and transformation affected both American and European political societies. American democracy may not be reduced to a resilient defense of original traditions, while the narrative of German democracy is more than redemption from catastrophe. The essays in this volume contribute to a new history of transatlantic democracy that accounts for its manifold experiences and constant renegotiations, up to the current challenges of American and European populism.

Frontmatter --; Table of Content --; Danksagung --; List of Abbreviations --; Beyond Resilience, Beyond Redemption --; Political Democracy and the Shaping of Capitalism in pre-1914 America and Germany --; “Democracy” --; Pluralizing Democracy in Weimar Germany --; How America Discovered Sweden --; Clumsy Democrats --; Discussing Democracy in Western Europe and the United States, 1945–1970 --; Conflict as a Moment of Integration --; Trajectories and Transformations of Western Democracies, 1950s–2000s --; Populism (against Democracy) --; List of Authors