Benjamin Constant distinguished two kinds of government: unlawful government based on violence, and legitimate government based on the general will. In Europe monarchy was for over a thousand years considered the natural form of legitimate government. The sources of its legitimacy were the dynastic principle, religion, and the ability to protect against foreign aggression. At the end of the eighteenth century the revolutions in America and France called into question the traditional legitimacy of monarchy, but Volker Sellin shows that in response to this challenge monarchy opened up new sources of legitimacy by concluding alliances with constitutionalism, nationalism, and social reform. In some cases the age of revolution brought on a new type of leader, basing his claim to power on charisma.

• Preface 6
• Preface to the German edition of 2011 7
• Contents 8
• 1. Introduction 12
• 2. Violence 25
• 3. Dynasty 51
• 4. Religion 86
• 5. Success in War 111
• 6. Enlightenment 150
• 7. Constitution 174
• 8. Nation 220
• 9. Social Reform 243
• 10. Charisma 264
• 11. Summary 294
• 12. List of Abbreviations 298