This book investigates how scholars from a variety of disciplines have defined and explained political development across what was formerly known as the "age of absolutism." It assesses whether the term still has utility as a tool of analysis and it explores the wider ramifications of the process of state-formation from the experience of central Europe from the early 17th century to the start of the 19th.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Series editors' preface, Acknowledgements, Map 1: The Reich in 1648, Map 2: The Habsburg and Hohenzollern monarchies, Introduction, 1 Emergence, 2 Theory, 3 Practice, 4 Enlightened absolutism, 5 Conclusions, Chronology, Appendix: Major rulers, Notes, Select bibliography, Index
