ABSTRACT
Why did Germany take part in the Scramble for Africa? This is still somewhat of a riddle which we do not propose to solve. However, we do propose some new lines of argument, which we think might help to find an objective answer. We start from the assumption that it is essential to take the role of Darwinian revolution and its aftermath in nineteenth-century thinking more seriously in writings about colonial expansion and imperialism. Furthermore, we opt for a more situational approach than historians under the impact of structuralism were ready to do, highlighting the contingency in political decision-making. Moreover, while our argument will focus on Germany, we would like to stress the fact that modern colonialism was part and parcel of the great Western project called modernity. Thus while focusing on Germany, our perspective will not be exclusively German, quite the contrary. For what we are going to say is rather informed by the conviction that German history differs less from that of other European nations than historians make us think. The prevalent view among historians for a long time was that Germany followed a unique trajectory among European nations. Hence the talk of a German Sonderweg. 1 We think that this interpretation is the logical result of an essentially nationalist perspective in history. 2 For what is nationalism all about? It is about the construction of so-called national differences in a world of competing nation-states. Fair enough, German history is different from French history, it also differs from British history, not to mention Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands; Germany nonetheless shares many things with her neighbours. Each nation has its particularities, but they have also many things in common.
