Before World War I, Germany was ruled by the Kaiser (Wilhelm II). Although there was a Parliament (the Reichstag), it didn't have much power as the Kaiser made all the important decisions. It was an authoritarian government.

Germany was rapidly industrialising and was producing more iron, coal and steel than the UK by 1914. Consequently living and working conditions in the cities were very poor which led to growing support for trade unions and for socialist parties like the SPD who wanted to improve workers' lives.

By 1914 over 3 million workers were members of trade unions.
Support for the SPD grew to one third of voters and their seats in the Reichstag increased from 11 to 87 between 1887 and 1903.
Radical socialists wanted to overthrow the Kaiser.

Prussian Militarism and Weltpolitik

The Kaiser wanted to make Germany a global power by building up the navy and acquiring more colonies - Germany's place in the sun. He followed a policy of Weltpolitik (world politics) and from 1898-1912 a series of Naval Laws were passed to build up the Navy. The 1898 law increased the navy to 19 battleships.
The domestic impact of this was mixed. It increased patriotism and support for the Kaiser and over 1 million people joined Admiral von Tirpitz's Navy League which campaigned for more spending on the navy. However, the increased spending also led to higher taxes and growing opposition from the Reichstag. The national debt also grew to 490 billion marks by 1913.

GCSE Germany 1890 - 1945 AQA

Germany before WWI