ABSTRACT
The focus of the preceding four chapters has been on national politics and the relative success of the formal network of collective secur ity and conflict resolution in preserving the Reich throughout the prolonged warfare of 1655–1721. It is now time to switch attention to an important aspect of war and German politics that has been largely ignored due to the parochial perspective of much of the wr iting on this per iod. Co-operation between individual terr itor ies had long existed alongside the formal mechanisms for peace and secur ity, supplementing them or substituting for any breakdown in official structures. Such action was not in itself unconstitutional provided it remained within the spir it of imperial law and was intended to counter internal breaches of the peace and external threats to ter r itorial integr ity. It remained a key element of imperial politics after the revival of formal collective security after 1648, contr ibuting to the preservation of the weaker ter r itor ies and their participation in international relations.
