Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The role of ideology is a longstanding problem in the sociology of revolution. Unfortunately, the diversity of previous approaches to ideology has obscured its causal effects. Following a social structural view of ideology and culture, this study argues that ideology is a primary causal origin of revolutionary contention. While previous research on revolution has examined the material and structural conditions and states’ ability to repress opposition, this study proposes that there is an analytically distinct set of factors directly related to ideology and social structure, termed absorption. States and ideologically constituted social orders can coopt and constrain contention by channeling it into non-revolutionary forms of collective action. The absorptive capacity of regimes is challenged by: 1) symbolic and cultural contradictions among social structures; and 2) unorganized, interstitial social spaces where mobilization emerges. The theory is illustrated by empirical consideration of the case of revolutionary contention during the 16th century of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. Preliminary results indicate that the absorptive capacity of regimes does correspond to the onset and intensity of revolution.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: When a ruler of the former ?Christian Republic? went to war, he had to inform his Christian enemy about the fact itself (declaration of war) and would give to him and to other Christian rulers reasons for this serious step (legitimisation of war). This concept was not Christian in its origin, but in the theological theory of Just War it became basic for the order among Christian states. Later it again transcended religious restrictions and became basic for warfare until today.It was, however, not the mere fact of secularisation that made the theory of Just War open for the future international order. Legitimisations of War changed substantially with the revolutions in communications since the 15th Century. The ?personal? declaration of war became less important, the legitimisation by war manifestos became crucial, i.e. official pamphlets that were written or drafted by rulers or high-ranked politicians. Manifestos were directed towards an international public. Their intention might have been in particular to convince other rulers, people of political influence, subjects that were affected by the war etc., but they argued that the reasons given for war in the individual case would be acceptable for the whole Christendom or even for all civilized societies and the whole ?world?. Thus they mirror the existing ideas of an international system and its values, as legitimisations of war make sense only if the author expects that there will be readers who can follow his argument. In the context of the project?s main subject and different panels it is e.g. most significant when Queen Anne of Great Britain in 1702 declared war on France for the ?liberty and balance of Europe?. This was the first time that a monarch used the idea of balance of power in a war legitimisation which shows that at that time it was a political standard that was acceptable to the European public.In my paper I would like to analyse main ideas of an international order given in war legitimisations from 16th to 18th Century.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: My study, focusing on the creation of a common law of the sea in 16th and 17th century Europe, centers on the premise that political actors exist within particular intellectual, political, and material contexts and that the interplay between these three elements both drives and directs political transformation. By examining the intellectual context, patterns of diplomatic interaction between states, and economic environment of early modern Europe as expressed through the debate on the law of the sea, I hope to provoke a rethinking of the universality of the concept of raison d’etat which has served as a primary tenant of international relations theory.My work on legal integration in early modern Europe around the issue of jurisdiction over the sea is the first study to consider a tripartite division of elements in the defining process of a common legal framework in Europe. The examination of the material, diplomatic, and intellectual conditions which allow for political integration does not reject existing scholarship, but instead situates the approach within a broader theoretical context. States, institutions and political actors may pursue desired ends through rational means, yet they do so within specific environments. Ends and means calculations are governed by the material, diplomatic, and intellectual frameworks within which they are made. This choice, in turn, impacts the nature of these material, diplomatic, and intellectual frameworks.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Inspired by Jurgen Habermas¡¯s presentation of the European public sphere institutions, I explore Korean Confucian private academies, which featured aspects of public sphere during its function from the 16th to the 18th century. Especially, (1) by examining Korean academies, I reveal how Habermas's definition of the European public sphere corresponds to the functions of those academies. (2) In order to show the transformation from naive public sphere to political public sphere, I examine the historical periods in which academies became politicized and began to actively participate in the national political discourse. (3) I present a variety of empirical evidence on the establishment and development of private academies.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: While a lot has been written on the emergence of modern diplomacy from the late renaissance and onwards, comparatively little is known about the parallel emergence of consular services. From the 16th century and onwards there have been far more consuls than diplomats, they have covered far more cities than the diplomats and in the hustle and bustle of everyday life they have been far more important than the diplomats in making the less spectacular parts of international society function. In this paper we highlight the importance of the consular institution, by detailing both the emergence of the consular institution in the Mediterranean in the years after the crusades and its development into a more modern recognisable form around the North Sea in the 17th century. Where consuls in the first period were notables with jurisdiction over countrymen in one specific area of a foreign country, in the latter period their function turned to the alleviation of trade for countrymen. Nevertheless, consuls also performed important political functions, particularly in countries that were not formally independent. A full history of diplomacy can thus, we conclude, not be told without incorporating elements from the history of the consular institution.