The term “German unificiation” or Pan-Germanism denotes the striving of the so-called German nationalist movement for political unification in the sense of Herder’s German nation defined by language and culture. The ius publicum imperii of the 18th century already used Einheit (“unit[y]”) as a measure for adjudging the imperial constitution: it implied not centralism, but a balance of power between the Emperor and the Imperial estates. It therefore became increasingly difficult, given the territorial rulers’ growing sense of sovereignty, to regard the Empire as a unit…
German unification (875 words)
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Kohl, Gerald, “German unification”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 02 April 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_SIM_018256>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20180915
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