Workshop series: Herrschaft and Gewalt from the Kaiserreich to the Berlin Republic

This series of five workshops, taking place throughout 2016, brings together early-career researchers and senior academics from universities in Germany and the UK to discuss the fraught relationship between Herrschaft and Gewalt in the history of modern German political thought.

The concepts of Herrschaft and Gewalt lie in tension with one another; the former referring to the violent application of force, and the latter to the establishment of legitimate power. Each workshop features a paper presentation and discussion investigating this tension, examining the forces and processes that have contested the meaning of these concepts and made them central to German thinking about the state, violence and social movements. Analysing state, government and political actors together, the resulting discussions focus on theories and practices of dissent and compliance, governance and rule. The aim is to begin a lasting and evolving discussion, and develop an interdisciplinary approach that challenges traditional and state-centric approaches to modern German history. It will culminate in an edited volume that will be prepared in 2017.

Supported by the DAAD Cambridge Research Hub with funds from the German Federal Foreign Office (FFO)