Emma Claussen. Politics and ‘Politiques’ in Sixteenth-Century France: A Conceptual History.

Abstract

In Politics and ‘Politiques’ in Sixteenth-Century France: A Conceptual History, Emma Claussen provides a detailed analysis of the shifting definitions of the term “politique,” as it was deployed as both an adjective and a noun in a range of published texts from the early sixteenth century to the conclusion of the Catholic League. Her stated ­­methodology is to examine published works that employ the term extensively and to treat it as a “keyword” that ­­underwent ­­continuous elaboration, ideological applications, and borrowing over the course of the century and ­­especially during the French Wars of Religion. This treatment of the term as a discursive construct rather than a description of a specific political stance in regard to the French monarchy and civil order is abetted by the claim that there was in fact no politique party in ­­sixteenth-century France nor any individuals who would have actively used the designation in...