New Perspectives in Anglo–German Comparative History

What paths has Anglo–German comparative history taken after the climax of the Sonderweg debate? This review article considers three approaches: the use of Britain as a model, comparative history as a quasi-experiment, finally the impact of GDR-scholarship on Anglo–German history. It argues that, although comparative history may appear somewhat less prominent today when compared to transnational or regional history, it remains a vibrant field of historical enquiry. However, it needs to grapple with a conceptual problem, namely the tension between its inbuilt preference for national frameworks of analysis and the possibility of regional, class, ethnic or religious variation in trajectories of modernization, development, cultures, or political views.