The modern state is Janus-faced. On the one hand, it is the only stable factor during a time when the foundations of capitalism seem to shake from the destabilization of banking houses; on the other hand, it increasingly interferes with its citizens' constitutional rights in the name of national security. While the state itself is neither good or evil, the state machinery can be abused by its engineers, not only in dictatorships, but also in parliamentary democracies in the grips of terrorism hysteria. This volume analyzes the changes in statehood from the viewpoint of realistic politics (realpolitik) in 12 essays. German text.