Thesis (doctoral)--Københavns universitet, 1982. / Summary in German. Includes indexes. Includes bibliographical references (p. 451-460).

Thesis--Lyon. / Label mounted on cover: "Diffusion: Librairie Klincksieck ... Paris."

Thesis (master's)--Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, 1980.

Inaug.-Diss.--Leipzig. / Lebenslauf. "Erscheint gleichzeitig als selbständige Schrift." "Literaturverzeichnis": p. [1]-5.

No description available.

This dissertation explores the role of Absolutist states in the transition from feudalism to capitalism in Western Europe. Three general questions are addressed: (1) what are the determinants of variations in the autonomy of rulers? (2) what are the consequences of variations in autonomy for states policies? and (3) what are the effects of various state policies on economic development? A new theoretical framework, based on a synthesis of the neoclassical economic literature on principal-agent relations and current organizational theory in sociology, is developed to answer these three questions. Case studies of Absolutism in England, France, Sweden, and Spain are used to illustrate the explanatory power of the theory.

The development of political modernity in Europe entailed a process whereby formerly important political forms increasingly lost significance and were transformed in a long process that led to the separation of individuals from political power, in the distinctive shape of modern (depoliticised) civil society and the state. The thought of G.W.F Hegel (1770–1831), which has fundamentally shaped the modern understanding of these developments, came to its maturity at the most advanced stage of this process, while the French Revolution was transforming the continental world. He thought through this process from a very early stage in his development (1800–4), and thereby formed the essentials of his political theory. But on the cusp of this modernity Hegel seemed to affirm what has appeared to many as the old powers that had disappeared in the formation of the modern state – the Stände. For many he thereby turned his political thought into an apparent anachronism. This dissertation, however, will argue that Hegel’s thought remains fundamentally modern and not at all anachronistic in its affirmation of the Stände. On the contrary, it is only through an examination of the concept of the Stände in Hegel’s thought, that one can fully understand the essentially institutional focus of his politics. This dissertation will argue for the significance of the concept of the Stände through historically situating Hegel’s thought and its engagement with the modern tradition. It will do so through a methodological examination of the concept in Hegel’s early period (1800–4) where the institutional character of his politics is first shaped and formed, in the perspective of insights from his mature political philosophy (1820/21). In so doing it will show how the concept of the Stände and the institutionalism it implies form Hegel’s unique response to the development of modern civil society.

For long there has been lacking a systematic survey of local fiscal administration in Sweden for the period between the Engelbrekt uprising 1434 and the Stockholm blood-bath 1520. At the same time, scholarly research has paid much attention to issues of fiefs and vassalage during the period. In particular, there has been a tendency to highlight the period as one during which direct crown administration slowly replaced fiefs in return for service to the realm as the main form of local fiscal administration. Thus, the late medieval period has been regarded as one of increased centralization, pointing towards the centralized bureaucratic state of the 16th and 17th centuries. Implicitly, such a development away from a weak feudal state form has been seen as a sign of incipient modern state-building. The purpose of this dissertation is to chart local fiscal administration in Sweden between 1434 and 1520. The emerging picture is not in accordance with earlier research. Instead, fiefs are found to be the overall dominating form of local fiscal administration during the whole period and no unambiguous tendencies towards centralization can be observed. Furthermore, the result is interpreted within the framework of modern research on the medieval state, in which the general concept of feudalism has been questioned. Fiefs are here seen as an integral part of the state apparatus rather than an infringement upon it, and a fully rational device for reducing administrative transaction costs. Ultimately, it means that the decentralized local fiscal administration of late medieval Sweden is not a manifestation of a weak state but of a full-fledged medieval state structure and an administrative apparatus which adequately fulfilled its required functions.

Communications scholarship faces a convergent crisis. Research on networks includes the role of information networks in supporting social movements, networked civil society, the information society, and new forms of communication. But while communications literature utilizes a variety of approaches to describe the impact of networked communications, a dearth of technical expertise permeates scholarship. Despite the discourse on networks potentially bridging previously distinct disciplines, the lack of a fundamental understanding of communications networks and relationships between technical and socio-political networks remains a consistent gap. This thesis will investigate the extent that opposition to the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in Europe constitute a networked public sphere. Through studying the role of civl society and the networked public in the European ACTA debate, the horizontal and vertical dimensions of socio-political and communications technology networks are not only illuminated, but the importance of analyzing the mechanisms through which vertical hierarchies enclose the public sphere become abundantly clear. This research provides the foundation for an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the relationship between information technology and socio-political networks and offers lessons for information policy makers, communications scholars, and networked civil society within the context of European democracy.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Lehigh University, 2004. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 358-374).