Constantin Frantz and the intellectual history of Bonapartism and Caesarism: a reassessment

The conservative German publicist and political theorist, Constantin Frantz (1817–1891), occupies an ambiguous place in German intellectual history. Some, such as Friedrich Meinecke, located him within the rich intellectual tradition of German federalism, highlighting his hostility to the idea of the “nation-state” and the traditions of nationalism, Realpolitik and militarism. Others, by contrast, have situated him within a long genealogy of German fascism, identifying his remarkable 1852 work, Louis Napoleon, as a kind of precursor or antecedent of twentieth-century fascist ideology. This interpretation raises broader questions about the historiography on Bonapartism and Caesarism, which has often been motivated by an interest in the intellectual origins of modern fascism. The present article supplies a reinterpretation of Frantz’s thinking about Bonapartism (Napoleonismus) and Caesarism by focusing on a much broader range of his intellectual output and by tracking the development of his view of Bonapartism’s significance between 1851 and the early 1870s. The main outcome is not just to question Frantz’s place in the “prehistory” of fascism, but also to show how deeply nineteenth-century debates about Bonapartism were connected to concerns about liberalism, democracy, nationalism and imperialism.     

Reading texts against an historical background: The case of lamentations 1 1

Abstract

In Part I, the paper offers an analysis of two narratives (1 Sam 25; 2 Sam 11) in which David is involved in a triangular relationship with another man and his wife. In the first narrative, both David and the woman (Abigail) are noble characters while the man (Nabal) behaves ignobly, but in the second these characteristics are reversed. David and the woman (Bathsheba) act badly, but the man acts well. In Part II, an attempt is made to see whether the confrontation between David and Uriah can be read coherently and consistently if it is supposed that Uriah knew what David was trying to achieve by sending him home to his wife, and David knew that Uriah knew. Although this reading allows a more complicated assessment of Uriah's character, it does not diminish the impression that he is a loyal and noble subject of the king. His loyalty, however, is married to a stern and uncompromising morality.     

Unsocial Sociability in the Scottish Enlightenment: Ferguson and Kames on War,Sociability and the Foundations of Patriotism

Summary

This article reconstructs a significant historical alternative to the theories of ‘cosmopolitan’ or ‘liberal’ patriotism often associated with the Scottish Enlightenment. Instead of focusing on the work of Andrew Fletcher, Francis Hutcheson, David Hume or Adam Smith, this study concentrates on the theories of sociability, patriotism and international rivalry elaborated by Adam Ferguson (1723–1816) and Henry Home, Lord Kames (1696–1782). Centrally, the article reconstructs both thinkers' shared perspective on what I have called ‘unsociable’ or ‘agonistic’ patriotism, an eighteenth-century idiom which saw international rivalship, antagonism, and even war as crucial in generating political cohesion and sustaining moral virtue. Placing their thinking in the context of wider eighteenth-century debates about sociability and state formation, the article's broader purpose is to highlight the centrality of controversies about human sociability to eighteenth-century debates about the nature of international relations.     

Post-Tensioned Glulam Beam-Column Joints with Advanced Damping Systems: Testing and Numerical Analysis

This article describes tests investigating a feasible source of passive damping for post-tensioned glue-laminated (glulam) timber structures. This innovative structural system adapts precast concrete PRESSS technology [Priestley et al., 1999] to engineered wood products combining the use of post-tensioned tendons with large timber members. Current testing is aimed at further improvement of the system through additional energy dissipation. Testing has favorably compared glue-laminated timber (not previously implemented in this way) with laminated veneer lumber (LVL) used in New Zealand. After initial benchmark testing with post-tensioning only, a simple, minimally invasive and replaceable type of hysteretic damper was added.     

Unintended consequences: an examination of Australia's ‘historic policy shift’ on East Timor

The Howard government's foreign policy objectives concerning East Timor remain the subject of intense historical debate. Given that some Indonesians harbour suspicions about Australia's role in East Timor's independence, it is important to reflect on Australia's diplomacy throughout this period. This article draws on 15 interviews with former politicians and officials—including Prime Minister John Howard and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer—to argue that in 1998, Australia's foreign policy was focused on supporting Indonesia's democratisation process and maintaining the bilateral relationship. It was only when Indonesia moved towards a ‘special status’ of autonomy for East Timor that Australia reconsidered its own position. Although rarely acknowledged, Australia's policy shift actually precipitated outcomes that it had sought to avoid. As such, Habibie's decision to allow self-determination in East Timor can only be viewed as an unintended consequence of Australian diplomacy—independence was never the objective of Australian foreign policy.