Wolfgang Reinhard was invited to the Ascona conference on ‘Statebuilding from below’ in 2005 as a critical commentator and he delivered a thought-provoking text (published as Chapter 20 in this volume). Seven of his remarks concern complementary observations on the papers presented at the conference; eight points are dedicated to the deconstruction of the concept of statebuilding from below, with three additional points considering especially Switzerland and the Netherlands in the early modern period. Finally, in seven steps, the commentator looks for an alternative concept.