On October 15, a major book launch will take place in Utrecht, entitled “Prussia at Crossroads: State, Society and Monarchy in Crisis.” Sir Christopher Clark (Cambridge), Susanne Bauer (BBAW), Jan Markert (Trier), and Frank Sterkenburgh (Utrecht) will present their new books on this topic. James Kennedy and Beatrice de Graaf (both Utrecht) will moderate and commentate.

Prussia in the nineteenth century was a state and society perpetually on the verge of crisis. It was victorious in the Napoleonic Wars but could not undo the consequences of the upheaval of the preceding three decades. Instead, what followed was a state constantly concerned about the return of revolutionary fervour or renewed attempts at uprooting the social order and its institutions. Religious beliefs and new political ideologies were seen to challenge the authority of the state and its key actors. Conversely, as Prussian society transformed socially, economically, culturally, and technologically, more groups sought access to the political process and asserted themselves in an expanding political sphere. How, then, did Prussian authorities respond to anything they saw as a threat to their positions and powers?

Four books will be presented which provide substantial new answers to this question by looking at different examples from nineteenth-century Prussia. On 14 October, Christopher Clark (University of Cambridge) will present his new book, which looks at how local authorities responded to a social and religious scandal in 1830s Königsberg, which tapped directly in the state’s fears for renewed revolutionary upheaval. The following day, Susanne Bauer (Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities), Jan Markert (Trier University) and Frederik Frank Sterkenburgh (Utrecht University) will present their books on how the Hohenzollern monarchy sought to establish itself as the imperial dynasty in the decades preceding and following the 1848 revolution and the challenges posed by nationalism, liberalism, the calls for a constitution and the emergence of mass media. This was a challenge for which a monarch always required his consort and family as well.

Taken together, these four books provide distinct new insights in how nineteenth-century Prussian and German history unfolded but are not exclusive to the German lands: how states responded to a rapidly changing society was a challenge which authorities faced across Europe and beyond. Finally, this event forces us to reflect on how authorities respond in the modern era to challenges to their powers in an age marked by a new transformation of the public sphere through the ascent of social media, a decline of notions of facts and truths, and heightening social and economic inequality.

Program
Due to circumstances, we have been forced to replan the double book launch announced earlier.

• The book presentations by Susanne Bauer, Jan Markert, and Frederik Frank Sterkenburgh will now take place in the afternoon (13:30–16:00) at the Zalen van Zeven.
• A light meal (soup & sandwiches) will be served at 16:00 to bridge the afternoon and evening sessions.
• The book launch of A Scandal in Königsberg by Sir Christopher Clark will follow in the evening at 19:00, in the Belle van Zuylenzaal at the Academiegebouw.
• We will end the day with informal drinks at 21:00, also at the Academiegebouw.

You are welcome to attend either part of the day or both – but please note: All previous registrations are no longer valid. We kindly ask everyone to register again using the updated form linked below.

Please register your attendance by this new registration link: https://forms.office.com/e/wDziGHi7Yi

More information: https://securityhistorynetwork.com/2025/10/01/urgent-two-book-events-in-one-day-prussia-at-crossroads-state-society-and-monarchy-in-crisis/