By following the development of the bestowment of aristocratic titles in Silesia and Bohemia the book reveals the efforts of Prussia and Habsburg Monarchy to reward and encourage certain types of behavior among their citizens on the one hand and suppress other types of behavior on the other. The study differentiates between both states and reveals how the rising national movements in Austria contributed to the progressive reformulation of the state's ideas about recruiting elites, while in Prussia the recruitment criteria for elites were continually tied to the conservative values of property and social standing.