Applied to the Holy Roman Empire before and during the Thirty Years' War, the concept of a polycentric, multi-level system helps explain its remarkable resilience in the face of growing centrifugal forces since the late sixteenth century. At the same time, it provides a coherent framework for analysing the mechanisms that, after 1618, led to the multi-level collapse of imperial systems of interaction. Finally, the model makes it possible to identify those levels of resource distribution and political interaction that remained partially or fully functional throughout the conflict.