1. What role did the aristocracy play in the formation of European states?
2. In what ways did early modern kings increase their power, and what relationship did they have to the commercial bourgeoisie in their countries?
3. What is meant by raison d'état and by the divine right of kings?
4. What role did religion and national churches play in creating or dismembering the state?
5. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the Spanish state.
6. Why did England move in the direction of parliamentary government, while most countries on the continent embraced absolutism? Indicate the main factors.
7. What made the Dutch state so different from its neighbors? Describe the differences. Are we justified in calling it "bourgeois"?
8. What made the Prussian, Russian, and Austrian experiences roughly comparable?
9. Discuss the differences between the treatment of peasants in eastern and western Europe.
10. Government has sometimes been described as being, in the final analysis, organized violence. Is that an appropriate description of early modern European governments?