... industrialised British threatened the good life itself. Equally, the Tsarist regime of Russia appalled the liberal industrialists whilst British economic muscle frightened them from allying with Great Britain. Kehr sees the xenophobia of the two parties as bringing the two together into a single militarist camp. Described by Zilch as an expression of `the aggressive character of the bourgeoisie, allied with the Junkers' `reactionary and dangerous strivings,' a successful foreign policy could stabilise the internal political and social position of the ruling classes against the threat of social democracy. Although Paasche and Dewitz, two National Liberal deputies for rural constituencies rescinded their affiliation to the Army League, as the agrarian league that backed them thought a bigger army to be too radical, indicating a lack of agrarian support for the drive to rearm, he provides examples of Handelstag support for the movement that is persuasive so far as the other angle ...

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