'This book offers an original and striking argument about the emergence of the German concept of the State from conflict and dialogue among princes and their subjects amidst the catastrophic circumstances of the Thirty Years War and its immediate aftermath. Friedeburg breaks new ground by shifting the discussion away from the unsteady development of German liberalism and the supposed uncritical and even enthusiastic embrace of monarchism, which allegedly pushed Germany along a deviant 'special path' away from western democracy and towards Nazism.' Peter H. Wilson, University of Hull

'This work is a tour de force on the development of the modern state in Germany, and a gift for all who are fascinated by the way ideas and passions can transform an empire. It is also a reminder of how voices from the past, and Luther's in particular, continue to speak to critical issues of injustice today.' Brenden Bott, Renaissance and Reformation

'This original interpretation makes the book a major intervention and provides a new way of thinking about the emergence of the state in the German lands.' Martin Christ, European History Quarterly