German Empire (Long live the Qing)

The German Empire was certainly the most powerful emerging power after World War I, the other being the Great Ming Empire. With vast colonial gains and a tremendous industrial capacity, no other known nation was deemed as a match for the empire. Nationalist sentiment was fueled by the stunning victory, and it was clear that the dying Hapsburg and Ottoman empires were only junior partners, while Chinese and German interests seemed to be too different to collide. Apart from being incredibly powerful, Germany became increasingly rich and heavily industrialised. Kaiser Wilhelm II became the figurehead of a new era again- but ths time of an era of German domination in Europe. Little did he know that the German government was already undermined by the army, and that it would be hard to remove it from the power it gained. Germany became an increasingly militaristic and repressive autocracy, and the road to social reforms was blocked. The old Prussian aristocracy dominated politics again for over 30 years, and the German Parliament's significance diminished. New forms of political dissent evolved, especially from the extreme left.