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Wilhelm was a constitutional monarch and shared power with his ministers and an elected parliament, or Reichstag. However, the kaiser had the final say on all significant matters, including appointments.<ref name=rohl18>Röhl, John C. G., ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=FN9GAgAAQBAJ&dq= Wilhelm II: Into the Abyss of War and Exile, 1900–1941]'', Cambridge University Press, 2014, p. xxviii.</ref> His supporters boasted that he was the "mightiest ruler on earth."<ref name=rohl17>Röhl, p. xxvii.</ref> His manic depressive personality led to chaotic policymaking.

Wilhelm was a constitutional monarch and shared power with his ministers and an elected parliament, or Reichstag. However, the kaiser had the final say on all significant matters, including appointments.<ref name=rohl18>Röhl, John C. G., ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=FN9GAgAAQBAJ&dq= Wilhelm II: Into the Abyss of War and Exile, 1900–1941]'', Cambridge University Press, 2014, p. xxviii.</ref> His supporters boasted that he was the "mightiest ruler on earth."<ref name=rohl17>Röhl, p. xxvii.</ref> His manic depressive personality led to chaotic policymaking.

Wilhelm's foreign policy aimed at "Napoleanic supremacy" over France and Russia. In the kaiser's view, Napolean's mistake was to go to war with Britain, something he hoped to avoid. Wilhelm had great enthusiasm for naval matters, and Germany began building a high seas fleet in 1900. The kaiser hoped that this fleet would intimidate Britain into severing its alliance with France. He realized that this approach was not effective in 1911 when the British intervened in the Agadir Crisis in support of French interests. The German public's response to Agadir was emotional and politically polarized. The military and the right wing parties agitated in favor of a military solution. The Reichstag approved army expansion in July 1913. The General Staff adopted the "Schlieffen Plan" to invade France by way of Belgium.

Wilhelm's foreign policy aimed at "Napoleanic supremacy" over France and Russia. In the kaiser's view, Napolean's mistake was to go to war with Britain, something he hoped to avoid. Wilhelm had great enthusiasm for naval matters, and Germany began building a high seas fleet in 1900. The kaiser hoped that this fleet would intimidate Britain into severing its alliance with France. He realized that this approach was not effective in 1911 when the British intervened in the Agadir Crisis in support of French interests. Provoked by the British intervention, the military and the right wing parties began to agitate in favor of a military solution. The Reichstag approved army expansion in July 1913. The General Staff adopted the "Schlieffen Plan" to invade France by way of Belgium.

The planned invasion was launched in August 1914, triggering [[World War I]]. Although the assassination of Austro-Hungarian Archduke [[Franz Ferdinand]] in Sarajevo in July created a useful pretext, this wasn't enough to prevent British involvement. The British were outraged by the invasion of neutral Belgium. They responded with a declaration of war against Germany, as well as full military support for the Belgians and French.

The planned invasion was launched in August 1914, triggering [[World War I]]. Although the assassination of Austro-Hungarian Archduke [[Franz Ferdinand]] in Sarajevo in July created a useful pretext, this wasn't enough to prevent British involvement. The British were outraged by the invasion of neutral Belgium. They responded with a declaration of war against Germany, as well as full military support for the Belgians and French.