Zur politischen Kultur in der Frühen Neuzeit

Abstract

Participation is an essential indicator of civic culture in early modern times. The characteristic components are active and passive involvement in governance, in political action, communication, and information. This thesis concerns the Holy Roman Empire as an example of participation in the early modern period. Accordingly, the political proceedings of the Imperial Diet, the participatory activity of the subjects, and the possibility of achieving political information will be discussed. For the understanding of the Holy Roman Empire and its political structure, »consensus« is one of the keywords. The early modern politician was in need of the ability to bring about a compromise and required considerable expertise in current politics. Subjects were able to participate by petitions, which addressed the Emperor or the Estates. These contained, for example, economic, social or legal questions and thus brought them to the appropriate political committee. In this manner a direct communication between ruler and subjects took place, the growth of which was a sign of the cumulative communication in the Holy Roman Empire. In addition, the possibility of participation implied the need of better information about political processes and activities. The civic culture of early modern times was shaped by »consensus«, compromise, competence and communication as expressions of political participation. Recommended citation: Neuhaus, Helmut, Zur politischen Kultur in der Frühen Neuzeit, in: Rechtsgeschichte - Legal History Rg 15 (2009) 97-108, online: http://dx.doi.org/10.12946/rg15/097-108