Social Contracts: The Formation of Political Sovereignty

2019 ◽  
pp. 13-25
Author(s):  
Mark G. Brett

The creation of political sovereignty in ancient Israel arose through alliances of kinship networks under a king, and this was facilitated by tribal elders and by a single charismatic leader, Samuel. The chapter shows how the elders of Israel prevailed in their argument for a king “like all the nations” by entering into social contracts between kinship groups, rather than by invoking a preexisting divine law that provides for the possibility of monarchy. The subsequent history of kingship eventually gave rise to a utopian law that provides for a strangely modern-looking constitutional monarch (Deut 17:14–20), but there is no evidence in the books of Samuel that the legal framework of Deuteronomy helped to shape the origins of political sovereignty in ancient Israel and Judah.

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Davies

This article represents a short reflective essay in honour of the Old Testament scholar Eben Scheffler. It focuses on the writing of the history of ancient Israel texts; examines different approaches to address the history of texts: minimalist and maximalist; and illustrates a minimalist approach in reference to the figure of the Israelite king Jeroboam II.


Author(s):  
Benoît Henriet

From its creation to the present day, jurists and historians have perceived the Congo Free State (CFS) as a special example of political sovereignty. As a ‘colony without Metropolis’ whose territorial basis was obtained through disputed treaties made in the name of geographical and philanthropic societies with almost no legal existence, it stands out at first sight as an anomaly in nineteenth century colonial State building. Yet, the Free State’s legal existence is largely rooted in other imperial experiences, and shares multiple common features with its colonial rivals. This article intends to show how, from H.M. Stanley’s first expeditions in the mouth of the Congo River (1876) to the creation of Belgian colony (1908), international law and foreign imperial rules were used as the very matrix of the CFS’s legal existence as a sovereign State. The particular history of the CFS’s quest for sovereignty and the creation of its land legislation not only offers a unique example of colonial law making, it also provides interesting outputs on colonial legislative processes, as well as general observations on the West’s territorial expansion in the nineteenth century.



2021 ◽  
pp. 461-478
Author(s):  
A. Yu Skrydlov

The article is devoted to the history of creation and the first years of activity of the Ministry of Police Statistical Division in the context of the departmental scientists of Russian subdivisions activities. Based on a wide range of published and archival materials, the author examines the prerequisites for the organization of the institution, the legal framework that governed its work at an early stage, examines the evolution of the structure and staffing. It is noted that the idea of concentrating statistical functions in one department appeared in Russia at the beginning of the 18th century and acquired particular relevance during the reign of Alexander I. Analyzing the clerical documentation, the author corrects the date of creation of the department, established in historiography, and notes the peculiarities of its position within the Ministry of Police. It is concluded that the creation of the Statistical Office was in the nature of an administrative experiment, funding for its activities at an early stage was carried out from third-party sources, and employees were not part of the staff of the ministry. It was noted that the effectiveness of the department's work directly depended on the personal interest of the leaders — the Minister of Police A.D. Balashev and Professor K.F. Herman. They managed to prepare the basis for further improvements in the work of the department.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 396-411
Author(s):  
Petrônio José Domingues

This article investigates the trajectory of the Grêmio Dramático, Recreativo e Literário Elite da Liberdade (the Liberdade Elite Guild of Drama, Recreation, and Literature), a black club active in São Paulo, Brazil, from 1919 to 1927. The aim is to reconstruct aspects of the club’s history in light of its educational discourse on civility, which was used as a strategy to promote modern virtues in the black milieu. By appropriating the precepts of civility, Elite da Liberdade helped construct a positive black identity, enabled the creation of bonds of solidarity among its members, and made itself a place of resistance and struggle for social inclusion, recognition, and citizens’ rights.


2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 72-98
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Chrissidis

Abstract The article first surveys Greek interpretations of the creation of the Russian Holy Synod by Peter the Great. It provides a critical assessment of the historiographical paradigm offered by N.F. Kapterev for the analysis of Greek-Russian relations in the early modern period. Finally, it proposes that scholars should focus on a Greek history of Greek-Russian relations as a complement and possibly corrective to the Kapterev paradigm.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (09) ◽  
pp. 108-113
Author(s):  
Alexander Begichev ◽  
Alexander Galushkin ◽  
Andrey Zvonaryev ◽  
Victor Shestak

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (11-1) ◽  
pp. 132-147
Author(s):  
Dmitry Rakovsky

The main purpose of this article is to study the role of the Russian Museum in the formation of the historical consciousness of Russian society. In this context, the author examines the history of the creation of the Russian Museum of Emperor Alexander III and its pre-revolutionary collections that became the basis of this famous museum collection (in particular, the composition of the museum’s expositions for 1898 and 1915). Within the framework of the methodology proposed by the author, the works of art presented in the museum’s halls were selected and distributed according to the historical eras that they reflect, and a comparative analysis of changes in the composition of the expositions was also carried out. This approach made it possible to identify the most frequently encountered historical heroes, to consider the representation of their images in the museum’s expositions, and also to provide a systemic reconstruction of historical representations broadcast in its halls.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (06) ◽  
pp. 192-197
Author(s):  
Elena Varustina ◽  
Aziza Marasulova ◽  
Valery Monakhov ◽  
Dmitry Pashentsev ◽  
Elena Rudakova
Keyword(s):  

2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Indrek Jääts
Keyword(s):  

This article analyses the conceptual path to the creation of national territorial autonomies of the Komi (Zyrians) and Komi-Permiaks in the 1920s. It focuses on the history of the idea of Komi autonomy and on the formation of the borders of the Komi Autonomous Oblast. The creation of the Komi autonomy was, first of all, the project of the small group of nationalist Komi communists. They tried to unite all the Komi politically, and were successful as far as their aims were in accordance with contemporary Soviet nationalities policy. However, they were not able to include Permiak areas, mainly because of the opposition of neighbouring Russian provincial elites.


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