The Formation of the First German Nation-state 1800-71 (Studies in European History)

Not only considering the standard issues of war, diplomacy and Bismarck in the crucial ten years up to 1871, John Breuilly also goes back to the time of Napoleon I, discussing issues such as social, economic and cultural developments. The book argues that unification was merely one of the possible outcomes of the German situation, and the the result of the rapid shifts in the relative power of different European states and of the underlying changes which made nationality a more vital force in politics.