Weimarization

English

WOTD – 11 August 2019

Etymology

From Weimar (city in Thuringia, Germany) +‎ -ization. On 11 August 1919, the national assembly of the German state met in Weimar to adopt a new constitution (the Weimar Constitution), leading to the formation of the Weimar Republic which proved to be a time of economic and political upheaval.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌvaɪmɑːɹaɪˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/, /-ɹɪ-/

• Audio (RP)

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• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌvaɪmɑɹaɪˈzeɪʃ(ə)n/, /-ɹɪ-/
• Hyphenation: Wei‧mar‧i‧za‧tion

Noun

Weimarization (uncountable) (American spelling, Oxford British English)

1. (politics) A state of economic crisis leading to political upheaval and extremism.
   • 1985, William C. Smith, “Reflections on the Political Economy of Authoritarian Rule and Capitalist Reorganization in Contemporary Argentina”, in Philip O’Brien, Paul Cammack, editors, Generals in Retreat: The Crisis of Military Rule in Latin America, Manchester, Dover, N.H.: Manchester University Press, →ISBN, page 47:

     In a last frantic move, the Peronist government again turned to a stringent stabilization plan (i.e. another 100 per cent peso devaluation, 90 per cent increases in publicly-controlled prices, coupled with a meagre 20 per cent increase in nominal wages). […] Some idea of this incredibly rapid ‘Weimarization’ of Argentine politics can be gleaned from an extrapolation of the first quarter’s inflation to a 3,000 per cent annual rate. Using the March figure, the same calculation yields a fantastic 17,000 per cent annual rate.

   • 1995, János Kornai, “Transformational Recession: The Example of Hungary”, in Christopher T[homas] Saunders, editor, Eastern Europe in Crisis and the Way Out (European Economic Interaction and Integration; 15), Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan Press in association with the Vienna Institute for Comparative Economic Studies, →ISBN, page 58; republished [London]: Macmillan in association with Palgrave Macmillan, 2014, →DOI, →ISBN, part I (Stabilisation Policies Assessed), page 58:

     Politicians have several times warned that there could be a "Weimarisation" of the postsocialist region, including Hungary. It should be remembered that it was mass unemployment and waves of inflation in Weimar Germany that led to mass disillusionment and rejection of the institutions of democracy and the parliamentary system. This economically-induced disillusionment provides a fertile breeding ground for demagogy, cheap promises and desires for iron-handed leadership.

   • 1998, László Andor, Martin Summers, Market Failure: A Guide to the East European “Economic Miracle”, London: Pluto Press, →ISBN, page 146:

     If the strength of this discontent reaches a certain threshold, that could bring dangers to the new Hungarian democracy … we have to defend ourselves from Weimarisation in the political and ideological spheres … we also need to draw the necessary conclusions in economic policy.

   • 2000, László Andor, “Transition Politics: Running the New Democracy”, in Hungary on the Road to the European Union: Transition in Blue, Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers, Greenwood Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 57:

     On the one hand, it was feared that right-wing conservatism could go to extremes by admitting racism into government offices, threatening a scenario of Weimarization; on the other, the revival and in certain cases the return of postcommunist parties represented a threat of restoration.

   • 2008 January, Chris Hedges, “A Conversation with Chris Hedges”, in American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America, trade paperback edition, New York, N.Y.: Free Press, →ISBN, page 266:

     There has been a kind of Weimarization of the American working class, and there's a terrible instability in the middle class.

   • 2015, Giulia Palladini, “The Weimar Republic and Its Return: Unemployment, Revolution, or Europe in a State of Schuld”, in Marilena Zaroulia, Philip Hager, editors, Performances of Capitalism, Crises and Resistance: Inside/Outside Europe, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN, part I (Returns):

     The ‘Weimarisation of Europe’ staged in the German and international press seems to correspond to a simultaneous affirmation that all European citizens are members of the same community, ‘in precisely the same way [as] the modern bourgeoisie [sees] its non-earning members’ […] .

Alternative forms

• Weimarisation (British spelling)

Related terms

• Weimarize

Translations

state of economic crisis leading to political upheaval and extremism

• French: weimarisation (fr) f
• German: Weimarisierung f, Weimarisation f
• Serbo-Croatian: vajmarizacija f

Further reading

• Weimar Republic on Wikipedia.Wikipedia