Conservatism in Germany

Conservatism in Germany has encompassed a wide range of theories and ideologies in the last three hundred years. However, most historical conservative theories supported the monarchical/hierarchical political structure.

During the pre-revolutionary Vormärz era, the label "Conservatism" united a loose movement of intellectual and political forces without any party organisation comparable to the British Tories. The tradition of Conservative theorists like Justus Möser (1720-1794) opposed Enlightenment tendencies and the ideals of the French Revolution.

While many of the Conservative theorists are labelled "political Romantics" (most notably by Carl Schmitt, himself a conservative), at least four strains are distinguishable before 1945:

Also included are the anti-Enlightenment romanticism of Friedrich Nietzsche, the conservative realpolitik and statecraft of Otto von Bismarck and the anti-republican monarchism of the German National People's Party (DNVP) during the Weimar Republic.

Conservative thought developed alongside nationalism in Germany, culminating in Germany's victory over France in the Franco-Prussian War, the creation of the unified German Empire in 1871, and the simultaneous rise to power of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Bismarck's "balance of power" foreign policy model maintained peace in Europe for decades at the end of the 19th century. His "revolutionary conservatism" was a conservative state-building strategy designed to make ordinary Germans—not just his own Junker elite—more loyal to state and emperor. He created the modern welfare state in Germany in the 1880s. According to Kees van Kersbergen and Barbara Vis, his strategy was:

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