ORIGINAL: Randomizer
Not by today's standards perhaps but in 1914, the number of functional democracies was very small. If you choose not to include constitutional monarchies as democracies...
First off, you said "liberal democracy", which triggered my post. Even by say 1912's standards (last elections were 1912 or 1913), the Kaiserreich was anything but a real constitutional monarchy. Bismarck was more liberal (until his change in 1878/79) than Wilhelm respectively his other Chancelors all together ever were.
Actually, the SPD wanted to get a real constitutional monarchy in 1918, they backed up Wilhelm to quite some extent, but they didn't have one and they didn't get one either, as the Allies insisted on Wilhelm's resignation.
This is the essence of constitutional democracy, the elected representives limiting the authority of the crowned head of state.
No, it just looks like it.
Wilhelm could veto whenever he wanted. The German Kaiser turned from a President of the German Confederation to the monarch of the Reich. The prominence of the Kaiser increased until around 1908, and decreased to some extent later on. Still, real
parliamentarism (like in the UK) did not happen until after the November-revolution, and after the Kaiser was gone.
...why the free democratic army of the British Empire numbering some 7,000,000 would find it necessary to shoot some 300+ of their own soldiers from 1914 through 1918 whereas the 11,000,000+ jack-booted proto-Nazis of the Kaiser executed a mere fraction of that number. When it comes to the World War One I strongly suspect that all was not exactly what we have come to believe.
Germany court-martialed (and shot) soldiers as well. Especially after such events where German troops fraternized with the enemy, playing football with British soldiers in no man's land or singing x-mas songs, shaking hands, and exchanging presents. Superior commanders probably thought shooting a few would be sufficient to make an example, already, who knows. German morale was relatively (except for the generally low morale in late 1914 and early 1915) ok until mid 1918, and fear of reprisals/consequences surely helped where the morale wasn't sufficient. The troops were threatened with draconian punishments in 1915. I know that parts of the literature have this trend to display the German regime as rather friendly/humane.
