War and German politics

In 1667 the German philosopher Samuel Pufendorf famously described the Reich as a “monstrosity”, because it did not fit the normal categor ies of European political science. ¹ Though possessed of sufficient human and material resources to hold the entire continent in awe, the Reich was scarcely able to defend itself , because it lacked the central co-ordination necessar y to har monize its disparate elements. Constant inter nal feuding, inflamed by sectar ian hatred since the Reformation, further weakened it, contr ibuting to the carnage of the Thirty Years War, which only served to widen the gap between it and its we ster n European neighbour s. Most subsequent commentators have agreed that the lack of a strong hereditary monarchy was a fundamental weakness, condemning Ger many to a largely passive international role until Prussia and Austr ia acquired sufficient power to act independently and emerge as rivals for political leadership.