The Dissertation project describes the question of how exactly the path of the state would have been chosen when the mechanisms of state operation ran into difficulties. Ancient China during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods and the Holy Roman Empire in the early modern period are used as subjects for comparison. The study is focused on the reforms in both countries and the hidden logic behind them, based on similar initial circumstances. In other words, the author wants to break away from the traditional 'Sinocentrism' and 'Eurocentrism' thinking and try to analyze, in a comparative form, why two countries with the same initial environment chose different paths. What are the core reasons that influence the choice of the path of the state? Are the paths chosen by Western and Eastern countries interchangeable if the variables are the same?

The periods of the Comparative study are: the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods: began with the move of King Ping of Zhou to the east in 770 BC and ended with the unification of the Six Vassal States by Qin in 221 BC. The early modern period: began with the imperial reforms in 1495 and ended with the dissolution of the empire in 1806. The analysis is based on ancient books (The Analects of Confucius, The Shiji, etc.) and existing research.

Kontakt :
Betreuer: Prof. Dr. Michael Rohrschneider