Synopses & Reviews
This book attempts to combine geopolitics, modernization theory and the primacy of foreign policy to provide a fresh perspective on the struggle for mastery in Germany before 1850. Any form of rigid determinism is eschewed; the outcome of this contest was still relatively open in 1780. Nevertheless, the book shows why after the upheavals--domestic and internal--of the revolutionary period, and the geopolitical revolution of 1815, Prussia and not Austria was on the verge of winning the struggle for mastery by mid-century. At every decisive stage along the way, it was Prussia rather than Austria or the "Third Germany" which showed itself capable of socio-economic and (partial) political modernization in order to adapt to external pressures and opportunities.
About the Author
Brendan Simms is Fellow and Director of Studies in History, Peterhouse, at Cambridge University.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments * Maps * Introduction: Geopolitics, Modernization Theory and The Primacy of Foreign Policy * Germany Before the French Invasion, 1779-1792 * The Impact of the French Wars, 1792-1815 * The Old Politics and the New Nation, 1815-1839 * The State versus the Nation, 1839-1850 * Conclusion * Notes and References * Bibliographical Essay * Index
Acknowledgments * Maps * Introduction: Geopolitics, Modernization Theory and The Primacy of Foreign Policy * Germany Before the French Invasion, 1779-1792 * The Impact of the French Wars, 1792-1815 * The Old Politics and the New Nation, 1815-1839 * The State versus the Nation, 1839-1850 * Conclusion * Notes and References * Bibliographical Essay * Index