ABSTRACT
Elector Frederick William I was driven by a will to succeed. His stern Calvinist faith drove him to build a state dedicated to order, a militaristic, bureaucratic regime, which would earn him widespread respect. The destruction of the Thirty Years War had brought about a general desire for stability and security which he was able to exploit. But for forty years he also used the recurrent threat of war to force change on his subjects and to undercut the traditional balance of power between the ruler and the Estates in favour of his own paternalistic government.
