Michael Weaver is a historian of European politics and culture. His work has been supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Joint Initiative in German and European Studies at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, and the Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Toronto. Michael holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Toronto and is an independent scholar.

• List of Tables, Figure, and MapsAcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsIntroductionChapter 1. Friendly PreconditionsChapter 2. Political Friendship and State Repression, 1851–1858Chapter 3. Political Friendship in Power, 1858–1862Chapter 4. Political Friendship and Political Crisis, 1863–1866Chapter 5. Personal Pasts as National HistoryConclusionBibliographyIndex

“A new cultural and communication-historical history of parties, even if it may take up other regional examples, possibly from other periods, will methodically draw on Michael Weaver's study that is an important milestone in a historiographical reassessment of the parties, as it emphasizes actor-centered research questions that take emotions, networks, and local world seriously.” Archiv Fur Sozialgeschichte