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Beyond Democracy or Dictatorship: Structuring Sovereign Debt in Germany from Weimar to the Postwar Period

In: A World of Public Debts

Author

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  • Stefanie Middendorf

    (Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam)

Abstract

The chapter scrutinizes the structuration of sovereign debt and state power in Germany after the end of the First World War, under democratic as well as under dictatorial rule. It argues that the history of German public debt practices in this period cannot be understood without taking the intermingling logics of national politics and international finance into account. Two aspects are highlighted: the blurring lines between state agency and market interests, and the growing importance of intermediary institutions and financial mediators. The findings show that the power of the state was measured decreasingly by the amount of subscriptions of public bonds by individual citizens. The most powerful asset of the state became its differential, sometimes even coercive impact on the capacity of (national as well as international) market actors to realize their goals. These developments transcended the caesura of 1933 and question normative narratives that connect parliamentarian representation, economic liberalism and sustainable debt.

Suggested Citation

  • Stefanie Middendorf, 2020. "Beyond Democracy or Dictatorship: Structuring Sovereign Debt in Germany from Weimar to the Postwar Period," Palgrave Studies in the History of Finance, in: Nicolas Barreyre & Nicolas Delalande (ed.), A World of Public Debts, edition 1, chapter 0, pages 287-315, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:psitcp:978-3-030-48794-2_12
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-48794-2_12
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