Sonderweg

Sonderweg, a German loanword meaning "special path", identifies the theory in German historiography that considers the German-speaking lands or the country Germany itself to have followed a course from aristocracy to democracy unlike any other in Europe. It is also used to explain German foreign policy and ideology before and during World War I, which was characterized by the search for a "Third Way" unlike "vulgar" Western democracy or "Tsaristic" eastern autocracy.