"Patrimonial" Bureaucracy and "Rational" Policy in Eighteenth-Century Germany: The Case of Hessian Recruitment Reforms, 1762-93

"Patrimonial" Bureaucracy and "Rational" Policy in Eighteenth-Century Germany: The Case of Hessian Recruitment Reforms, 1762-93

“‘Patrimonial’ Bureaucracy and ‘Rational’ Policy in Eighteenth-Century Germany: The Case of Hessian Recruitment Reforms, 1762–93” by Peter K. Taylor, published in Central European History (Vol. 22, No. 1, March 1989, pp. 33–56), examines the tension between traditional administrative practices and emerging rationalized governance in 18th-century Hessen. Focusing on military recruitment reforms between 1762 and 1793, Taylor explores how the Hessian state sought to modernize its army while contending with a patrimonial bureaucracy rooted in local privilege and customary practice. Using archival records, official correspondence, and contemporary policy documents, the article highlights the complex interplay between reformist policy initiatives and entrenched administrative structures, offering insight into the challenges of state modernization and the development of military administration in early modern Germany.