New release: Zwischen Leidenschaft und Disziplinierung. „Treue“ als gefühlspolitischer Kampfbegriff in der neueren deutschen Geschichte. By Nikolaus Buschmann
14. September 2009
In: Arcadia - International Journal for Literary Studies, 44, 1 (2009), 106-120.
Zitation
Modernisation theories consider allegiances based on personal loyalty between rulers and subjects as expressions of a more “traditional” understanding of state and society. Nevertheless, such notions have proved to be remarkably persistent in the modern political imagination. Constitutional states may now legitimate political rule, but “systems of loyalty” (Paolo Prodi) have continued to mobilise political and military allegiances well into the twentieth century. This is particularly true for the concept of “Treue”, which has played a key role in the construction of German national identity in modern times. (Abstract)
Dr. Nikolaus Buschmann is fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study Konstanz, research project “Concepts of loyalty in modern Europe. Germany and Great Britain in comparison.”