Studies in European History – serie

The Holy Roman Empire has always caused tremendous confusion for students of European history, and this book sets out to provide a clear account of this remarkable organisation - comparable in many ways only to the modern European Union - and its profound impact during its three centuries of existence.

This new study provides an up-to-date survey of social and economic developments in early modern Eastern European rural societies. Markus Cerman revises the traditional images of mighty lords and poor, powerless 'serf peasants', discussing the theories which led to the assumption that serfdom existed throughout the region.Cerman contrasts the interpretation of a long-term backwardness with a fresh view of the legal, social and economic status of villagers, their living standards and their role in actively shaping rural communities. Featuring helpful tables, a glossary and a comprehensive bibliography, this is a stimulating reassessment for anyone studying this period and often neglected topic in European history.

We now live with the threat and the reality of political terror and terrorists. The French Revolution was the first occasion when a democratic government used terror as a political weapon, executing thousands of people for political crimes. What caused reasonable people to implement such a brutal regime? What did it achieve? What are its links with the terrors of the present day?This established text examines a range of key issues, analyses the terror's background and traces the course from the fall of the Bastille in 1789 to the work of the guillotine during the terror of 1793-4. It puts the terror into context and shows how circumstances and ideas interacted to create an event that has haunted the political imagination of Europe ever since. Thoroughly revised in the light of recent scholarship and debates, this new edition of an essential introduction includes:- An updated historiography section- Clearly set-out definitions of the 'terror' and more detail on its workings- An entirely new chapter exploring the social and cultural policies of the Revolution- An up-to-date bibliography, organised thematically for ease of reference

This popular, concise and highly readable study discusses the key themes and debates about the Russian Revolution. Robert Service's lively analysis examines:- state and society under the Romanovs from 1900- The February and October Revolutions of 1917- The final years of the Romanov dynasty and the start of the Soviet order- Comparisons with political, social and economic trends elsewhere in the world- The extent to which the later development of the USSR was conditioned by the October RevolutionClear and incisive, the fourth edition has been thoroughly revised and updated in the light of the latest research and features a new scene-setting Introduction and maps. Service's text remains the essential starting point for anyone studying this tumultuous period in the history of Russia and the world in the twentieth century.

Karin Friedrich locates the composite state of Brandenburg-Prussia in its historical, political, religious and economic context, from the demise of the Teutonic Knights in the fifteenth century to the Napoleonic crisis. Synthesising debates in German, English and Polish historical writing, the study focuses on key themes and concepts such as:- Confessionalisation, state-building, absolutism, and the rural economy- The primacy of foreign politics- The impact of an enlightened public sphere on changing notions of citizenshipFriedrich assesses the ability of the Prussian state to integrate its constituent parts, not least by creating a patriotic identity and notion of unity under the name of 'Prussia'. Challenging myths and older views, this fresh interpretation is ideal for anyone studying this complex political entity within early modern Europe.

An essential introductory survey of the towns, villages and parishes in which people lived in the medieval and early modern periods. Beat Kumin assesses the similarities, differences and the wider significance of these communities for European society prior to 1800.

This is a concise but wide-ranging account of all aspects of the Scientific Revolution from astronomy to zoology. The third edition has been thoroughly updated, and some sections revised and extended, to take into account the latest scholarship and research and new developments in historiography.

A clear, concise and thought-provoking introduction to the history of East Germany which engages critically with key debates and advances new interpretations of the origins, development and demise of the GDR. Peter Grieder also offers an original conceptualization of the GDR as a totalitarian welfare state.

This study surveys the growth of European intervention outside Europe between 1860 and 1914. It treats its subject, 'imperialism', as a process of increasing contact, influence and control, rather than as the nature and consequences of colonial rule. The problems of defining 'imperialism' are considered alongside various analytical approaches to the term. In examining the controversial historiographical literature surrounding this subject, the book criticises particular explanations, and introduces readers to some of the new directions in research and inquiry currently being explored by historians.

Many accounts of German unification focus on war, diplomacy and Bismarck and on the crucial ten years up to 1871. John Breuilly, in addition to paying attention to those issues extends the analysis back to 1800. He also takes into account social, economic and cultural developments, bringing to the reader's attention recent research, much of it in German. In particular, the book argues that one should see unification as just one possible outcome of the German situation, the result of rapid shifts in the relative power of different European states and of underlying changes which made nationality a more vital force in politics.

This book examines why, in 1914, a Balkan conflict escalated into a general European war. It focuses on the decision-making of each Power during the July-August crisis, and analyses the role of domestic politics, economics, cultural factors, militarism, imperialism, and the international political system. Attention is given to source material and to historiography, notably the controversy surrounding the work of Fritz Fischer. There is an extensive annotated bibliography

The Khrushchev Era examines the major political, social, and economic reforms of Nikita Khrushchev, from the 'Secret Speech' and Khrushchev's limited, but at the time earth-shattering critique of Stalin, to his ill-fated reorganizations of the Communist Party, agriculture, and industry. Besides giving a factual account of the reforms themselves, Filtzer analyses the complex factors behind their failure, focussing not so much on the inadequacies of Khrushchev as a leader, as on the structural obstacles to reform within the Stalinist system itself. As such the Khruschev period is shown to contain instructive historical lessons for our understanding of Mikhail Gorbachev and his own failed perestroika.

This lively and concise book uses a dual approach to introduce students and non-specialists to Wilhelmine Germany (1888-1918). It surveys social, economic, political, cultural and diplomatic developments in an age of tumultuous upheaval. It also explains why historians have so often reversed the interpretative 'switches' guiding research on this period. By highlighting the breadth of historical change under Wilhelm II and the evolution of opposing viewpoints about its significance, this book provides easy access to an epoch - and a debate - characterised more by controversy than consensus.

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Over the past twenty years, new approaches to the history of the Reformation of the Church have radically altered our understanding of that event within its broadest social and cultural context. In this classic study R. W. Scribner provided a synthesis of the main research, with a special emphasis on the German Reformation, and presented his own interpretation of the period.Paying particular attention to the social history of the broader religious movements of the German Reformation, Scribner examined those elements of popular culture and belief which are now seen to have played a central role in shaping the development and outcome of the movements for reform in the sixteenth century. Scribner concluded that 'the Reformation', as it came to be known, was only one of a wide range of responses to the problem of religious reform and revival, and suggested that the movement as a whole was less successful than previously claimed.In the second edition of this invaluable text, C. Scott Dixon's new Introduction, supplementary chapter and bibliography continue Scribner's original lines of inquiry, and provide additional commentary on developments within German Reformation scholarship over the sixteen years since its first publication.

The two Germanies, arising from the unpromising ashes of defeated Nazi Germany, came to represent opposing models of state and society. The Federal Republic established itself as a remarkably stable democracy and successful social market economy: the German Democratic Republic developed an apparently exemplary form of 'actually existing socialism' and became a pillar of the Soviet bloc. Then in 1989, the 'gentle revolution' in East Germany added a new twist with the collapse of Communist rule. With rapid reunification, the united Germany of 1990 faced new challenges as the unprecedented transformation created a multitude of economic problems and social tensions.Previously published in 1992 as The Two Germanies, this book has been fully revised and updated to take account of all the latest developments in contemporary German history.

In this study Peter Burke distances himself from the traditional interpretation of the Renaissance as essentially Italian, self-consciously modern and easily separable from the Middle Ages. He emphasises the survival of medieval traditions and the process of the creative adaptation of classical forms and values to their new cultural and social contexts in Italy and elsewhere in Europe. The story is carried down to the seventeenth century and the diffusion and disintegration of what had once been a coherent movement. Illustrated with black and white plates, this edition has been updated throughout to take account of recent scholarship, has a fully revised bibliography and will provide the student with a stimulating introduction to the subject.

Few historical events have inspired so much controversy and debate as the French Revolution. The origins, nature and effects of the Revolution have been the themes of a voluminous literature, especially since the 1950s, and there has been sharp disagreement among historians about them. This book discusses the present state of the controversy and provides detailed suggestions for further reading. Blanning explains the different interpretations advanced by Marxist, revisionist and post-revisionist historians in order to provide students with access to the literature and to help them to form their own views.

Drawing on research based on access to the recently-opened Soviet archives, this new edition provides a valuable thematic account of the nature of Stalinism. The author surveys the arguments about the origins of the Stalinist phenomenon and discusses the way in which the different faces of Stalinism (economic, social, cultural and political) changed over time. Gill concludes that the dramatic fall of the USSR was connected to the nature of Stalinism.

The figure of the witch still has the ability to exert a powerful fascination on the modern mind. The vision of the elderly crone begging for charity at the crossroads, an object of fear and revulsion for her local community, has combined with the memory of prolonged judicial persecution and oppression to inspire contemporary movements as far removed from each other as Wiccans and women's liberation. In tackling such an emotive issue, where misogyny and violence combine with superstition and the basest of human instincts, Scarre and Callow chart a clear and refreshingly level-headed approach to the subject. Distinguishing between fact and fiction, they set the witch trials firnly back within the context of their own times and, without seeking to exonerate those responsible, demonstrate how it was possible for judiciaries and social elites to believe wholeheartedly in the reality and efficacy of witchcraft as a valid system of belief and as a dangerous threat to the fabric of society in which they lived.This new edition has been comprehensively updated to take account of the vast expansion in interest and scholarly research that has taken place in the field since the publication of the first edition. This work provides a provocative thesis for those seeking to understand the basis for the politics of persecution and a firm interpretative basis around which further exploratory research may be conducted.

The eighteenth-century Enlightenment was one of the most exciting and significant currents of European culture. Battling against tyranny, ignorance and superstition, it formulated the ideals which still inform our society today: a belief in reason, criticism, freedom of thought, religion and expression, the value of science, the pursuit of progress. Enlightenment thinkers undermined the ancien regime and provided the ideas for the French Revolution. Modern scholarship, however, has shown it was a more complex and ambiguous movement than commonly recognized. This book, now in a fully updated second edition, sympathetically explores the complexities of the Enlightenment. Synthesizing and evaluating the latest scholarship, it offers a new and comprehensive vision of this many-faceted movement.

First published in 1986 as one of the first titles in the Studies in European History series, this book quickly established itself as the most concise and accessible guide to the meanings and hidden complexities of an apparently straightforward historical category, both in the history of France and Europe as a whole. The second edition now incorporates material which has widened and advanced the historical debate in the intervening years, and includes a completely revised and expanded bibliography.

While nationalism had become politically significant well before the late nineteenth century, it was between 1890 and 1940 that it revealed its political explosiveness and destructive potential.Organised around specific themes, many of which are currently hotly debated among experts in the field, Oliver Zimmer's study discusses such key issues as: the modernity of nations and nationalism, the formation of the nationalising state and the significance of national ritual for modern mass-nations, the ways in which nationalism shaped the treatment of minorities, the relationship between nationalism and fascism, and the perception of nationalism by liberals and socialists. Zimmer's account is more explicitly focused on conceptual issues than most textbooks on the subject, and also more historical and historiographical than many of the existing theoretical overviews. The result is an incisive examination of the most powerful ideology of modern times.

Was Napoleon the 'heir' of the French Revolution, the great consolidator of its reforms, or did he distort and even abandon its principles? What were the aims and effects of Napoleonic rule in France and in conquered Europe more widely?This second edition of The Napoleonic Empire offers a critical reassessment of these central issues and provides a fresh synthesis of the most important research during the past forty years. Beginning with Napoleon's inheritance, Geoffrey Ellis balances the conflicting evidence for change or continuity over the years from the Revolutionary upheaval to the height of the 'Grand Empire'.The new edition:- Covers the administrative, military, social and economic aspects of the subject- Redefines the whole impact of Napoleonic imperialism in both the short and longer term- Offers more extensive coverage of Napoleon's treatment of the annexed lands and subject states of his Empire, as well as of military conscription, desertion, and the role of the Gendarmerie in the war against brigands and military defaulters- Provides an expanded discussion of the institutional legacy of Napoleonic rule in France and EuropeWith an up-dated and more comprehensive bibliography, this thoroughly revised text is an invaluable guide to Napoleon's Europe and is ideal for specialist and general readers alike.

An up-to-date empirical and historiographical overview of the actual political relevance of nationalism and internationalism in post-war Europe. Adopting a largely chronological approach, Gerrits links the historiography of post-war Europe and the major theoretical approaches to nationalism with analysis of key historical developments and events.

This new study provides a concise, accessible introduction to occupied Europe. It gives a clear overview of the history and historiography of resistance and collaboration. It explores how these terms cannot be examined separately, but are always entangled.Covering Europe from east to west, this book aims to explore the evolution of scholarly approaches to resistance and collaboration. Not limiting itself to any one area, it looks at armed struggle, daily life, complicity and rescue, the Catholic Church, and official and public memory since the end of the war.