Daniel Schlappi – författare

The emergence of the state in Europe is a topic that has engaged historians since the establishment of the discipline of history. Yet the primary focus of has nearly always been to take a top-down approach, whereby the formation and consolidation of public institutions is viewed as the outcome of activities by princes and other social elites. Yet, as the essays in this collection show, such an approach does not provide a complete picture. By investigating the importance of local and individual initiatives that contributed to state building from the late middle ages through to the nineteenth century, this volume shows how popular pressure could influence those in power to develop new institutional structures. By not privileging the role of warfare and of elite coercion for state building, it is possible to question the traditional top-down model and explore the degree to which central agencies might have been more important for state representation than for state practice. The studies included in this collection treat many parts of Europe and deal with different phases in the period between the late middle ages and the nineteenth century. Beginning with a critical review of state historiography, the introduction then sets out the concept of ''empowering interactions'' which is then explored in the subsequent case studies and a number of historiographical, methodological and theoretical essays. Taken as a whole this collection provides a fascinating platform to reconsider the relationships between top-down and bottom-up processes in the history of the European state.

The emergence of the state in Europe is a topic that has engaged historians since the establishment of the discipline of history. Yet the primary focus of has nearly always been to take a top-down approach, whereby the formation and consolidation of public institutions is viewed as the outcome of activities by princes and other social elites. Yet, as the essays in this collection show, such an approach does not provide a complete picture. By investigating the importance of local and individual initiatives that contributed to state building from the late middle ages through to the nineteenth century, this volume shows how popular pressure could influence those in power to develop new institutional structures. By not privileging the role of warfare and of elite coercion for state building, it is possible to question the traditional top-down model and explore the degree to which central agencies might have been more important for state representation than for state practice. The studies included in this collection treat many parts of Europe and deal with different phases in the period between the late middle ages and the nineteenth century. Beginning with a critical review of state historiography, the introduction then sets out the concept of ''empowering interactions'' which is then explored in the subsequent case studies and a number of historiographical, methodological and theoretical essays. Taken as a whole this collection provides a fascinating platform to reconsider the relationships between top-down and bottom-up processes in the history of the European state.

Drei zentrale Merkmale charakterisierten den Umgang frühneuzeitlicher Gesellschaften mit Ressourcen: Erstens hatten kollektive Ressourcen bzw. Gemeinbesitz und dessen Bewirtschaftung zum ''gemeinen Nutzen'' große Bedeutung. Zweitens waren neben materiellen auch immaterielle Ressourcen Gegenstand sozialer Techniken des Transfers, der Bewertung und der Konvertierung. Drittens spielten Ressourcen in sozialen Beziehungen eine zentrale Rolle.Daraus ergeben sich eine Fülle von Fragen: Wie wurden verschiedene Arten von Gütern, materielle wie immaterielle, gegeneinander verrechnet? Welchen ökonomischen Regeln gehorchten soziale Beziehungen? Welche Rolle spielten Ressourcen in Beziehungen? Inwiefern waren Ressourcen in ihrer Wahrnehmung und im Umgang an konkrete soziale Beziehungen gebunden, können also nicht als beziehungsfreie Größen konzipiert werden? Was bedeutet es für ein ökonomisches Modell, wenn auch immaterielle Ressourcen wie Loyalität oder Ehre ins Kalkül einbezogen werden?Die Beiträge dieses Bandes gehen diesen Fragen an konkreten Fallbeispielen nach, reflektieren theoretische und konzeptionelle Aspekte und entfalten dabei eine ''Ökonomie sozialer Beziehungen''.