Was the British Empire much more democratic than the German Empire in 1913?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

This question is historically illiterate. When the term 'the British Empire' is used it only ever refers to the overseas territories controlled - both formally and de facto - by the British crown, and never to the United Kingdom itself.¹ The term 'German Empire' refers in this period to the unified German state established in 1871, not to German overseas possessions (the usual term for this is the German Colonial Empire). In order to avoid confusion with the Holy Roman Empire many historians even writing in English prefer to refer to that state as the Kaiserreich. It is very important to understand that overseas empires were not considered as parts of their 'parent' states.

Neither the United Kingdom nor the Kaiserreich were what one would now accept as fully democratic, though both states had democratic elements. There's not really much question as to which of the two was more democratic though; the United Kingdom, although a lengthy explanation is necessary to explain why.

Both countries had a restricted franchise based on gender - only men could vote - and in the United Kingdom there was a complex system of enfranchisement that meant that (to grossly simplify an extremely complicated situation) only heads of households and property owners could vote.² In Germany there was universal manhood suffrage, in fact there had been even before the establishment of the Kaiserreich. You might conclude from this that, actually and quite surprisingly, the Kaiserreich was more democratic, but this would be an error. The British government was directly accountable to the House of Commons, which meant to the electorate; the government could be removed at the ballot box (and was very frequently) and governments had little choice but to respond to public pressure on policy. The Reichstag, however, was essentially a potemkin parliament with very limited powers; it could menace over money, but the executive was not accountable to it but to the Kaiser. Both countries also had powerful upper houses that were (to say the least) less than democratic, but while the powers of the House of Lords were comparatively weak and were severely castrated by the 1911 Parliament Act, the Reichsrat was, in practice, more important than the Reichstag. State governments remained important in Germany and the franchise for these was often gerrymandered in favour of landed interests (this is why the Reichsrat - which was comprised of the representatives of state governments - cannot be considered to be a democratic body). Local government was powerful in both countries, but was considerably more democratic in Britain.

<sub>1. Occasionally it is used in reference to Ireland, but this is inaccurate.
2. Heads of households because the non-property based qualification was on the payment of more than ten pounds in rent per annum. By the early 20th century this meant that most slum households had one vote.</sub>

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I wasn't saying if I thought that counts as genocide. My point is that holding up the British as morally superior doesn't make sense. There was really nothing out of the ordinary with what Germany did in its colonies... it was the general European attitude back in the day.

If you're referring to the Herero Wars, they actually were unusual.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Before the WW1, not only all the women, but also many men were disfranchised in the UK
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representation_of_the_People_Act_1918

Do you even read replies? Because I'm sure that someone had already mentioned that...

Both countries had a restricted franchise based on gender - only men could vote - and in the United Kingdom there was a complex system of enfranchisement that meant that (to grossly simplify an extremely complicated situation) only heads of households and property owners could vote.²

2. Heads of households because the non-property based qualification was on the payment of more than ten pounds in rent per annum. By the early 20th century this meant that most slum households had one vote.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Yeah, Prussia was the stronghold against communism and fascism, moreso than any other part of Germany. It was also somewhat monarchist, with more than did so federally voting for the DVP, DNVP, and DDP.

Don't confuse elections with government.

The most important KPD strongholds - Berlin, the Ruhr and the Province of Saxony* - were all in the State of Prussia. As were many regions of particularly notable Nazi electoral success; pretty much all of East Elbia, Schleswig-Holstein, the rural Protestant parts of Hanover Province and so on.

What distinguished Prussian state politics was a powerful SPD leader - Otto Braun - who worked well with the Zentrum (who at state level were dominated by their sensible rather than idiot wing) and the DDP.

_{*Modern day Saxony-Anhalt, less Anhalt. More or less.}