Friday, May 31, 2013

Abstract of the day

Peter Haldèn, "Republican Continuities in the Vienna Order and the German Confederation (1815-66)," Eur. Journal of Intl. Relations, June 2013:
This article argues that the German Confederation — deutscher Bund — (1815–66) was a form of rule built on early modern republican political theory. It was a ‘Compound Republic’ form of rule constructed to prevent the emergence of a system of sovereign German states as well as a single sovereign German state. Its purpose was maintaining peace and stability in Europe and safeguarding the autonomy of its member polities. Contemporary statesmen, intellectuals and scholars saw these purposes as complementary. A non-sovereign, polycentric and republican organization of the German lands was regarded as a natural and necessary component in a stable Europe free from war and revolutions. This article analyses the origins, institutions and policies of the German Confederation, with particular regard to how the means of organized violence were organized. It thereby demonstrates the implementation of republican ideas and purposes in the Bund. The article situates the Bund in 19th-century thinking about European stability and sovereignty, further demonstrating the prevalence of republican ideas on international order. Republican political theories and institutions differed sharply from modern theories and models of international relations. Consequently, the history of international politics, the European system of states and state-formation must be re-conceptualized more in line with historical realities.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

"A non-sovereign, polycentric and republican organization of the German lands was regarded as a natural and necessary component in a stable Europe free from war and revolutions."

If it "was regarded" that way, then it's all the more remarkable that the rest of the powers sat on their hands in 1866 and 1870.

LFC said...

I guess that wd be one way of looking at it...

presumably he addresses this in the article, which i haven't read.

Anonymous said...

I remain guardedly optimistic that Congress will get around to requiring that any journal funded in part w/ gov't $$ must be available online & free to the public, and that other countries will follow suit. One of these days.

As it stands, I will decline to pay $25 to read the article.

LFC said...

I wouldn't pay to read it either. I can get it through the univ. library that I use, tho not sure I am sufficiently interested for myself. But I cd, at some pt, download the pdf from the lib and email it to you if you want.