The intense rivalry in battleship building that took place between Britain and Germany in the run up to the First World War is seen by many as the most totemic of all armaments races. Blamed by numerous commentators during the inter-war years as a major cause of the Great War, it has become emblematic of all that is wrong with international competitions in military strength. Yet, despite this notoriety, 'the Great Naval Race' has not received the attention that this elevated status would merit and it has never been examined from the viewpoint of both of its participants simultaneously and equally. This volume, which contains a comprehensive survey of the existing scholarship on this topic, both English-language and German, as well as important primary source materials from a range of archives in both Britain and Germany, fills this gap. By putting the actions of the British Admiralty side-by-side with those of its German counterparts, it enables the naval race to be viewed comparatively and thereby facilitates an understanding of how the two parties to this conflict interacted. By offering a comprehensive range of German documents in both their original text and in English translation, the book makes the German role in this conflict accessible to an English speaking audience for the first time. As such, it is an essential volume for any serious student of naval policy in the pre-First World War era.

The intense rivalry in battleship building that took place between Britain and Germany in the run up to the First World War is seen by many as the most totemic of all armaments races. Blamed by numerous commentators during the inter-war years as a major cause of the Great War, it has become emblematic of all that is wrong with international competitions in military strength. Yet, despite this notoriety, 'the Great Naval Race' has not received the attention that this elevated status would merit and it has never been examined from the viewpoint of both of its participants simultaneously and equally. This volume, which contains a comprehensive survey of the existing scholarship on this topic, both English-language and German, as well as important primary source materials from a range of archives in both Britain and Germany, fills this gap. By putting the actions of the British Admiralty side-by-side with those of its German counterparts, it enables the naval race to be viewed comparatively and thereby facilitates an understanding of how the two parties to this conflict interacted. By offering a comprehensive range of German documents in both their original text and in English translation, the book makes the German role in this conflict accessible to an English speaking audience for the first time. As such, it is an essential volume for any serious student of naval policy in the pre-First World War era.

Im Jahre 2005 konnte die Bundeswehr auf eine 50-jahrige Geschichte zuruckblicken. Diese Geschichte ist uberaus facettenreich. Der Stellenwert, den die Bundeswehr fur die Aussen- und Sicherheitspolitik der Bundesrepublik gewann, gehort ebenso dazu wie der Wandel des Soldatenbildes, die Position der Streitkrafte in der Gesellschaft und der medienvermittelten offentlichen Wahrnehmung oder auch das Ringen der Teilstreitkrafte um eine aufgabengerechte Ausstattung. Gleichzeitig reicht diese Geschichte bis an die unmittelbare Gegenwart heran und verlangt so nicht nur den Beitrag des Historikers, sondern auch den des heute Verantwortlichen."

Das Projekt untersucht zunachst das bei Aufstellungsbeginn der Bundeswehr konzipierte Bild des Staatsburgers in Uniform. Frank Nagler stellt hierbei konkurrierende Lesarten dieses Leitbildes vor und betrachtet sodann dessen Auspragungen, wie sie in den einschlagigen Gesetzen, Vorschriften und Publikationen ihren Niederschlag gefunden haben. Schliesslich wendet sich die Studie der bis 1964 vorgenommenen Aufstellung zu. Analysiert werden dabei die Folgen, welche die Rekrutierung und die damit einhergehenden Krisen fur das Binnengefuge der Streitkrafte und fur das Leitbild des Staatsburgers in Uniform gehabt haben."