Heinzen, Jasper Maximilian orcid.org/0000-0002-6790-3787 (2017) Monarchical state-building through state destruction:Hohenzollern Self-legitimization at the Expense of Deposed Dynasties in the Kaiserreich. German History. pp. 525-550. ISSN 0266-3554
Abstract
The German War of 1866 was a turning point in the consolidation of Prussian hegemony over the emerging German nation-state. This article engages with a neglected aspect of this process by investigating the destabilizing effect of Prussia’s territorial expansion at the expense of fellow monarchies in Hanover, Hessen-Kassel, Nassau and Schleswig-Holstein. It argues that the hostile response of ruling houses related to the deposed dynasties and the disapprobation of legitimists at home placed the Hohenzollerns in a difficult position, as they often found themselves caught between the informal yet palpable pressure of Europe’s ‘Royal International’ and the policies pursued by their chancellor, Otto von Bismarck. To escape this dilemma, King (from 1871 onwards Kaiser) Wilhelm and his successors sought to bring about a reconciliation with the alienated dynasties through treaty settlements, intermarriage and the appropriation of their rivals’ symbolic capital in public speech acts. The way in which the Hohenzollerns courted their detractors betrayed a versatility that scholarship on the Prussian cult of monarchy has yet to fully appreciate. In fact, the Hohenzollern court’s long-term preoccupation with sectional reconciliation reveals much not only about royal diplomacy in the second half of the nineteenth century but also about the workings of Germany’s monarchocentric federal edifice and the role of civic initiative in the promotion of monarchical legitimacy.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the German History Society. All rights reserved. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details |
Keywords: | German War of 1866,international relations,Prussian monarchy,state-building |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (York) > History (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 03 Jan 2018 10:50 |
Last Modified: | 09 Mar 2025 00:06 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1093/gerhis/ghx103 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1093/gerhis/ghx103 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:125755 |
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