Russia The Role Of Prussia In Germany Essay

Then, as for politics and economics, he sought to both expand Prussia’s capacity and enlarge the administrative system in order to maximize the utility of his country. Through an expansion in the bureaucracy, albeit selected from the nobility, and the creation of a new tax-collecting system based on indirect taxes, he succeeded in converting Prussia from ‘a collection of territories in the possession of a dynasty’ into ‘a centralized state’.¹⁴ This shift allowed Prussia to win the wars she fought and to become a reliable and credible state among the great others. Moreover he introduced diplomacy as a useful tool for succeeding in negotiation processes, conflict solving and agreements between states. ____________________________________________________________________________________

“The Prussian Military State.” In Mortimer, G. Early modern military history, 1450-1815. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004, pp.118-134.

14.Feuchtwanger, E. J. Prussia: Myth and Reality: The Role of Prussia in German History,. London: Wolff, 1970. Pag. 61.

He also promoted innovative domestic policies, among which the most remarkable is that Frederick did not justify himself by divine right as other monarchs did (such as Louis XIV), but in a pragmatic way.¹⁵ In fact, he sought to achieve legitimacy through the social contract of the military state instead of having claims by blood and dynasty. Nevertheless, looking at the topic from a different perspective, Frederick tried to legitimate his position by strengthening the nobility and making it loyal to him rather than by achieving a widespread consensus among common citizens. Indeed, as Palmer points out, ‘A king of Prussia, in Frederick’s view, must, to have an army, hold a firm balance between classes in the state, and between economic production and military power. He must preserve the nobility […]’ through a rigid class structure and the distribution of privileges.¹⁶ Therefore, both his focus on a narrow social class and the importance given to space and borders highlight the distinction between the Eighteenth-Nineteenth centuries and the Twentieth century where, on the contrary, monarchs were more concerned with population and domestic social

Indeed, through the analysis of different aspects of life (military, political, economic, social and cultural) it can be discerned that the advances made by Frederick the Great were not against the international system arisen from the Peace of Westphalia, but instead they followed the old-fashioned trend of the last centuries. Consequently, it can be claimed that Frederick the Great did not either break the rules or challenge the system. Moreover, it is arguable that his figure has been overestimated in the attempt to transform him into a symbol of Modern Age, since he just respected fixed conventions. However, all the innovations made by him opened the road to the next great leaders such as Napoleon, who was inspired by the military knowledge of the Prussian ruler. In conclusion, it can be suggested that Frederick succeeded in finding room for Prussia among great powers, albeit the results achieved were more fragile than how he expected they would