Germany’s New Sonderweg: Why the ‘Special Path’ Theory Matters in 2025

The concept of the German Sonderweg — a “special path” of German political development — has shaped debates in history for nearly a century.

Photo by Rasmus Gundorff Sæderup on Unsplash

Dear Reader,

The phrase deutscher Sonderweg — “the German special path” — once explained how a nation of poets and philosophers could fall for organised barbarism. In the 19th century, Germany modernised without democratising: industry boomed, but political power stayed with the Kaiser and Junker aristocracy. T…