This book by the legal historian Otto von Gierke (1841-1921), published in 1880, was for a long time a classic work in Germany. Gierke draws from oblivion Althusius, whom he presents as the father of federalism. But above all, he offers a genealogy of modern political concepts.
Keyword: Legal history, philosophie of law, sociology of law, German state theory, history of political ideas, theory of the social contract, municipalism, German law