Representative assemblies in early modern European state-building: Evidence from four experiences

The article reassesses the role played by parliaments and other representative structures in the European state-building processes. A preliminary analysis of four cases (Brandenburg-Prussia, Dutch Republic, Poland and Sweden) is conducted, with the purpose of singling out the “internal” determinants – i.e. institutional properties of the assemblies – that allowed them to integrate into the institutional framework of the states in formation, or that hindered such an integration. These determinants are found to consist in three main factors: organisational centralisation, working autonomy, and a significant interdependence relationship with a distinct and relatively autonomous governmental centre.