How do historians compare absolutism and constitutionalism as responses to the problem of state power?
Topic 3.8 Comparison in the Age of Absolutism and Constitutionalism: applying the historical reasoning skill of comparison to the two models of state power that emerged after 1648.
A focused answer to AP European History Topic 3.8, the comparison reasoning skill applied to Unit 3: comparing absolutism (France, Russia) with constitutionalism (England, the Dutch Republic), explaining their similarities and differences, and structuring a comparison LEQ or DBQ that explains the reasons for both.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page
Jump to a section
What this topic is asking
Topic 3.8 is a reasoning-skill topic. The College Board is not adding new content; it is asking you to apply the historical reasoning skill of comparison to Unit 3. You should be able to compare absolutism (France, Russia) with constitutionalism (England, the Dutch Republic): explain their similarities and differences and, crucially, the reasons for them.
What comparison means on the AP exam
The exam tests three reasoning skills: causation, comparison (anchored here), and continuity and change over time. A prompt that says "compare" or "evaluate the similarities and differences between" is signalling comparison.
The two models side by side
| Feature | Absolutism (France, Russia) | Constitutionalism (England, Dutch Republic) |
|---|---|---|
| Where sovereignty lies | In the monarch alone | Shared with a representative body |
| Role of representative bodies | Weak or bypassed | Central (Parliament, States General) |
| Justification | Divine right of kings | Government limited by law and consent |
| Leading examples | Louis XIV, Peter the Great | England after 1689, the Dutch Republic |
The key similarity
It is easy to overstate the contrast. Both models were responses to the same pressures: the need to keep order after the wars of religion and to fund the larger, costlier armies of the military revolution. Both built strong, centralized, war-capable states. England's constitutional monarchy, with Parliament voting taxes, could actually raise money and wage war very effectively, as could the Dutch Republic. The difference was not strength versus weakness, but where power was located.
The key difference, and why
Reasoning well: explain, do not just list
The single most common comparison mistake is listing features side by side without explaining them. The rubric rewards judgement: state a similarity and a difference, and then explain why each holds. Pair every comparison with a reason.
Try this
Q1. Name the three historical reasoning skills tested on the AP exam. [Recall]
- Cue. Causation, comparison, and continuity and change over time.
Q2. Explain one reason absolutism and constitutionalism diverged despite facing the same pressures. [Short explanation]
- Cue. In England, Parliament's established control over taxation gave it the leverage to resist the crown, confirmed by the Civil War and the Glorious Revolution, while in France the monarch overcame such checks and concentrated sovereignty in the crown.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of College Board exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AP 2020 (style)6 marksCompare absolutism and constitutionalism as approaches to organizing state power in Europe in the period c. 1648 to c. 1715.Show worked answer →
A Long Essay Question (LEQ), scored on the 6-point comparison rubric.
Thesis (1): "Absolutism and constitutionalism both concentrated state power to meet the demands of war and order, but they located sovereignty differently, in the monarch alone versus in a representative body, which shaped very different institutions."
Contextualization (1): the post-Westphalia drive to build strong states.
Evidence (2): Louis XIV's France and Peter's Russia for absolutism; England after 1689 and the Dutch Republic for constitutionalism.
Comparison analysis (2): explain a similarity (both built strong, war-capable states) and a difference (where sovereignty lay), and explain WHY the difference arose, then add complexity by noting that both faced the same pressures.
AP 2021 (style)3 marksBriefly describe ONE similarity between absolutist and constitutional states. Briefly describe ONE difference between them. Briefly explain ONE reason the two models diverged.Show worked answer →
A Short Answer Question (SAQ) testing comparison, 3 points.
A. Similarity: both built strong, centralized states capable of funding large armies and navies in response to war and the costs of the military revolution.
B. Difference: in absolutism sovereignty lay with the monarch alone, while in constitutionalism it was shared with a representative body such as Parliament.
C. Reason for divergence: in England, Parliament's established control of taxation gave it the leverage to resist the crown, while in France the monarch overcame such checks.
The key is to keep similarity and difference distinct and then explain the divergence.
Related dot points
- Topic 3.7 Absolutist Approaches to Power: the theory and practice of absolutism, the reign of Louis XIV, the rise of absolutism in central and eastern Europe, and the tools rulers used to centralize power.
A focused answer to AP European History Topic 3.7, covering the theory and practice of absolutism: divine-right monarchy, Louis XIV and Versailles, the absolutism of Prussia under the Hohenzollerns and Russia under Peter the Great, and the tools (standing armies, bureaucracy, taming the nobility) used to centralize power.
- Topic 3.2 The English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution: the struggle between king and Parliament, the execution of Charles I, the Restoration, and the Glorious Revolution that established parliamentary supremacy.
A focused answer to AP European History Topic 3.2, tracing the English Civil War, the execution of Charles I, the Restoration, and the Glorious Revolution of 1688 to 1689, and explaining how England developed constitutionalism (parliamentary supremacy) rather than the absolutism rising on the continent.
- Topic 3.5 The Dutch Golden Age: the rise of the Dutch Republic as a commercial, financial, and cultural power, its republican constitutionalism, and the financial innovations that made it dominant.
A focused answer to AP European History Topic 3.5, covering the rise of the Dutch Republic in the 17th century: its commercial and financial dominance (the VOC, the Amsterdam exchange, the fluyt), its republican constitutionalism and religious toleration, and its golden age of art and learning.
- Topic 3.1 Contextualizing State Building, Expansion, and Conflict: the conditions after the wars of religion that drove rulers to centralize power and that produced rival absolutist and constitutional states.
A focused answer to AP European History Topic 3.1, setting the scene for Unit 3: the exhaustion left by the wars of religion, the Peace of Westphalia and the sovereign state, the military revolution and the fiscal-military state, and how these conditions produced the rival models of absolutism and constitutionalism.
- Topic 3.6 Balance of Power: the decline of religion as a cause of war, the rise of balance-of-power diplomacy, and the great-power conflicts of the late 17th and 18th centuries.
A focused answer to AP European History Topic 3.6, covering the post-Westphalia decline of religious warfare, the rise of the balance of power as the organizing principle of European diplomacy, the wars of Louis XIV, and the emergence of the great powers and shifting alliances of the 18th century.
Sources & how we know this
- AP European History Course and Exam Description — College Board (2020)