Books in the Studies of the German Historical Institute, London series

The first historical exploration of global publics, the volume describes the development of global publics from the late nineteenth-century communication revolution to the pre-digital era. It provides geographically wide-ranging case studies that explore global publics in such diverse fields as sports, film, theatre, drug control and human rights.

This volume of essays explores the intermediate territory between the `law in the books' and the `law in action' from a historical perspective and on a comparative basis. Specialists from Britain, France, Germany, and the United States investigate the significance of private law in central areas of social conflict: rural production, family relations, work, housing, and debt.

Offering an approach to the history of the modern state, this text concentrates on the 18th century and on two cases, those of Britain and Germany. Using a comparative study, it deconstructs certain cliches about the two states and forces one to rethink how to study states in the early modern era.