Alexander Lee – författare

Hur har idén om frihet utvecklats och förändrats under århundradena? Vad betyder frihet idag och vad behöver vi göra för att behålla de friheter som generationer män och kvinnor har kämpat, och till och med dött, för? 

Frihet är en grundförutsättning för att ett samhälle ska frodas och utvecklas. Dess historia är brokig: mänsklighetens eviga kamp mot ödet, våra förfäder som outtröttligt stred för att upprätta tanke- och religionsfrihet, demokratiska friheter i samhället i stort och kampen mot auktoritära regimer och tyranner världen över. 

I denna essäsamling utforskar ledande akademiker, författare och historiker vad frihet har betytt genom tiderna. De reflekterar över detta ständigt pågående drama och varför vi så villigt offrar oss för friheten när den hotas.

This volume offers the first comprehensive survey of regime change in Italy in the period c.1494–c.1559.

Far from being a purely modern phenomenon, regime change was a common feature of life in Renaissance Italy – no more so than during the Italian Wars (1494–1559). During those turbulent years, governments rose and fell with dizzying regularity. Some changes of regime were peaceful; others were more violent. But whenever a new reggimento took power, old social tensions were laid bare and new challenges emerged – any of which could easily threaten its survival. This provoked a variety of responses, both from newly established regimes and from their opponents. Constitutional reforms were proposed and enacted; civic rituals were developed; works of art were commissioned; literary works were penned; and occasionally, aspects of material culture were pressed into service, as well. Comparative in approach and broad in scope, it offers a provocative new view of the diverse political, culture, and economic factors, which ensured the survival (or demise) of regimes – not only in "major" polities like Florence, Rome, and Venice, but also in less-well-studied regions like Savoy.

This book will appeal to researchers and students alike interested in cultural, political, and military history.

This volume offers the first comprehensive survey of regime change in Italy in the period c.1494–c.1559.

Far from being a purely modern phenomenon, regime change was a common feature of life in Renaissance Italy – no more so than during the Italian Wars (1494–1559). During those turbulent years, governments rose and fell with dizzying regularity. Some changes of regime were peaceful; others were more violent. But whenever a new reggimento took power, old social tensions were laid bare and new challenges emerged – any of which could easily threaten its survival. This provoked a variety of responses, both from newly established regimes and from their opponents. Constitutional reforms were proposed and enacted; civic rituals were developed; works of art were commissioned; literary works were penned; and occasionally, aspects of material culture were pressed into service, as well. Comparative in approach and broad in scope, it offers a provocative new view of the diverse political, culture, and economic factors, which ensured the survival (or demise) of regimes – not only in "major" polities like Florence, Rome, and Venice, but also in less-well-studied regions like Savoy.

This book will appeal to researchers and students alike interested in cultural, political, and military history.