Introduction: Noble Ways and Democratic Means

Abstract

Introduction: Noble Ways and Democratic Means

Beginning with an analysis of internal squabbles between nobles during the Prussian reforms, the introduction surveys fundamental problems of the historiography of the nobility in nineteenth-century Europe, and defines the concepts used by the individual case studies in this issue. By looking at noble elites and their responses to democratic challenges in a global comparison, it suggests a new interpretation of the frequently observed persistence of noble leaders and their ability to preserve positions of power and influence in a century typically characterised by the onset of democracy. The essays in this volume, it is argued, emphasise the significance of (collective) political activities by noble actors. The successful defence of noble power did not primarily depend on socio-economic factors; rather, it was conditional on the skilful co-optation of «democratic means».