Court Politics Research Articles

Wizygoci w rejonie Bałkanów w teorii i praktyce politycznej dworów późnego cesarstwa rzymskiego

From the half of the 4-th century to the end of the 4-th century a tribe of Goths – Westgoths, played a significant role in the politics of the Eastern and Western Roman Empire courts. Activities of the emperor valens against Goths showed that regardless of military measures, an equally effective form of compulsion could also be economic actions. It was supported by an exceptional effectiveness of the trade embargo which use turned out to be much more effective measure which forced the barbarians to the obedience than acts of war. The initial politics of containment of the Goths invasion within the framework of the so called Gothic „wars” exercised by Valens was replaced by politic of opening of the borders of the Empire for Gothic immigrants in hope of strengthening of the Roman army with conscription of barbarous recruits. Lack of ability of mastering the crowds of newcomers and providing them a basis for peaceful existence ended with the tra-gedy at Adrianople in 378. A treaty of alliance of 382 seemingly met the expecta­tions of both Parties, but for a short time only. Some attempts of the revision of the conditions of the treaty to the advantage of the Goths appeared as early as for a de­cade later. The key problem of the politics of the imperial courts in the Balkans at the turn of 4th and 5th century was the activity of the Visigothic king Alaricus who superbly made use of disagreements between Ravenna and Constantinople. Moreover, he made use of opportunities resulting from bestowing him a few times the rank of Roman magister militum. A controversial and still unexplained issue is, if Alaricus became the magister militum per Illyricum, already in 395 as result of negotiations with Rufin. Next disputable issue is, in which degree the ruler of the Visigoths led his own deliberate politics, and in which degree he remained a tool in hands of the politicians of the Eastern and Western Roman courts.

The decline and limited revival of citizenship deprivation: Germany and Switzerland as deviant cases?

ABSTRACT A common argument in the literature on loss of citizenship has been that after 1945 most if not all countries liberalised their laws on loss of citizenship until the beginning of a countermovement in 2001. This article focuses on Germany and Switzerland which do not fit this pattern and where after the early 1950s laws on loss of citizenship became less liberal, although not dramatically so. This distinctive German and Swiss pattern can be explained in part by distinctive historical starting points. Late in the nineteenth century, Switzerland started out with very broad protections against loss of citizenship, and after 1945 Germany adopted much more extensive protections against loss of citizenship than before. Subsequent legal changes represent a regression toward the mean. Loss of citizenship is also closely related to laws on dual citizenship. Although both countries today tolerate dual citizenship to varying degrees, laws on loss of citizenship are still used to contain the spread of dual citizenship although neither country engages in futile attempts to eliminate dual citizenship. Court decisions and party politics also played a role but neither can explain the overall trajectory of German or Swiss laws on loss of citizenship.

Revisiting the Failed Coup of 1330 and its Significance in the Late Yuan Court Politics

Revisiting the Failed Coup of 1330 and its Significance in the Late Yuan Court Politics

The Promises and Perils of Courtly Poetry: The Case of Mir ʿAbd al-Jalil Bilgrami (1660-1725) in the Late Mughal Empire

Abstract This article examines the career and writings of the minor poet ʿAbd al-Jalil Bilgrami (1660-1725) in order to explore the relation between the practice of courtly poetry and the work of politics in the Late Mughal empire. Tracing the transformations in ʿAbd al-Jalil’s writings over the first decades of the eighteenth century, this article demonstrates that the poet’s practice, driven as much by literary concerns as by material needs, responded to and was implicated within the politics of the Mughal court. His life thus illuminates both the opportunities and dangers opened by the practice of poetry in an era of the rapid and unprecedented dispersal of political authority in the empire.

Elite Women in Ascendancy Ireland, 1690–1745: Imitation and Innovation by Rachel Wilson

Reviewed by: Elite Women in Ascendancy Ireland, 1690–1745: Imitation and Innovation by Rachel Wilson Ingrid Tague Rachel Wilson. Elite Women in Ascendancy Ireland, 1690–1745: Imitation and Innovation. Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK: Boydell, 2015. Pp. xiii + 208. $99. In 1707, Juliana, dowager countess of Burlington and guardian of her son's estate, was asked by an Irish curate to support repairs to a church in Tallow, County Waterford. The church's roof had been partially blown off in a storm, and the curate turned to her because of her family's long ties to the area; her son's great-grandfather, the Earl of Cork, had worshiped there. Juliana grudgingly agreed to cover some of the costs but not enough to pay for both the demolition and rebuilding that were needed. Yet only a year later she spent a considerable sum of money to repair and beautify a church on her son's English estate. These two decisions nicely exemplify the peculiarities of both the Irish elite and Ms. Wilson's book, which seeks to emphasize the distinguishing characteristics of Irish elite women while consistently demonstrating the ways in which those women identified with their English counterparts. Juliana's role as a central figure in this book also points to an even greater oddity, since she was herself an Englishwoman who never set foot in Ireland. The lives of elite British women during the long eighteenth century have by now been extensively studied. Ms. Wilson seeks to identify areas of comparison and contrast with Irish women's counterparts in England and Scotland, who have received considerably more attention from historians. Focusing on the decades following the Revolution, when Ireland's economy was suffering, its political system was in flux, and Catholics were systematically deprived of economic and political power, Ms. Wilson argues that this period saw the establishment of a unique role for elite Irish women. The book moves outward from family and the home to sociability, politics, and finally "institutional philanthropy." Ms. Wilson relies for her evidence primarily on five families for whom extensive documentation survives. Appendices provide family trees for each, which helps the reader keep track of the complex networks and multiple titles involved; brief summaries of each family's history also appear in the introduction. These families spanned a broad range in terms of both rank and fortune; Ms. Wilson acknowledges that she conceives of elite status "quite liberally," relying on an unspecified "baseline in terms of income and status." This decision is understandable: intermarriage, political engagement, and sociability all enabled a broad elite to mingle and participate in many of the same activities. More problematic is the equally liberal conception of what it meant to be Irish. Many of the women who are the subjects of this study spent relatively little time in Ireland; one, as we have noted, "never visited at all." While Ms. Wilson argues that Irish women's experiences were distinct from their counterparts in England and Scotland, this case is hard to make when she relies so heavily on women who spent much of their lives outside Ireland. Details throughout the book, however, support her view. She notes the strong tendency toward endogamous marriage, observing that "even the most cosmopolitan families were deceptively provincial." Irish families married into other Irish families, with a relatively small pool of potential mates who shared similar rank and [End Page 179] fortune. Similarly, she addresses the impact of the post-Revolutionary years on elite sociability in Ireland, with the emergence of a "new Ascendancy elite, … blending together those with rank and the newly moneyed commoners who had risen to prominence in the wake of the Glorious Revolution." The absence of regular parliaments and a royal court further distinguished Irish from English sociability, especially as it intersected with politics. Ms. Wilson notes that while the same key families participated in court politics over years in England, "in Ireland, the ground was constantly shifting beneath women's feet, as its political leaders changed, arrived and left. This prevented the acquisition and implementation of the kind of influence wielded at the English court by female favourites or quickly nullified it." Yet the political roles played by...

Empire of Night by K. Armstrong

Armstrong, Kelley. Empire of Night. Doubleday Canada, 2015.This young ddult fantasy novel is the sequel to the book Sea of Shadows, and is the second of a trilogy. Empire of Night strongly benefits from reading the first book. It continues the story of identical twin sisters Moria and Ashyn, the Keeper and Seeker of Edgewood. In this mythical world, Keeper and Seeker are magical roles occupied by certain twin girls. They have the responsibility of quieting the souls of the damned. They are helped by a giant wildcat and a giant hound in their duties. Although close sisters, Moria and Ashyn have two very different personalities: Moria is a fiery warrior with strong talent for telling scary stories, while Ashyn is a shy romantic, more prone to thoughtful reservation.Empire of Night picks up close to where the first book ends. Moria and Ashyn are guests at the Emperor’s court, and their village of Edgewood is destroyed. Most of their family and friends are gone, and the twins are eager to take action against Alvar Kitsune, the man who holds the remaining children of Edgewood hostage. The Emperor, however, is slow to make a decision much to the frustration of the girls who find themselves having to navigate the politics of court. Moria, in particular, finds herself befriending Prince Tyrus, the kind, illegitimate son of the Emperor, who has unmistakable feelings for her.When the Emperor finally sends the girls on a rescue mission for the children, along with a small party of men and Prince Tyrus, the twins quickly find themselves on a perilous journey. It becomes unclear who can be trusted, even within their own group, and their mission becomes even more dangerous when Alvar accuses Moria and Tyrus of treason, putting a large bounty on their heads.Empire of Night is not as strong as the first book in the trilogy and does feature stereotypes of the young adult genre, but it is still a worthwhile book for collections. In particular, the book is notable because outside of the two heroines, all major characters in the book are people of colour, described with East Asian features. Moria and Ashyn are in fact the racial minority in a world largely rooted in Japanese feudalism, which includes Asian-inspired food, strong themes of filial piety, and the importance of honour. In fact, the two girls frequently encounter being stereotyped due to their Northern heritage, an interesting reversal and means of social commentary.The book suffers from a love triangle, but the other sister’s journey in navigating romance is worthwhile, as she learns how to turn down a potential suitor, and in spite of his negative reaction, remains mature and calm while also setting boundaries. These important themes for young adults are thoughtfully presented. The two main characters are also notable for being examples of two different kinds of strong females.Some readers may be deterred from the switch between point of view in storytelling, between the two sisters. The book also ends on a large cliffhanger, unlike its predecessor.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Colette LeungColette Leung is a graduate student at the University of Alberta, working in the fields of Library and Information science and Humanities Computing who loves reading, cats, and tea. Her research interests focus around how digital tools can be used to explore fields such as literature, language, and history in new and innovative ways.

The Politics of Courts in China

Politics has shaped the operation of the Chinese courts as well as their decision-making processes. This article surveys mostly empirical studies on the relationship between the courts and politics. It covers topics such as judicial independence, local protectionism, judicial mediation, judicial innovation, judicial reforms, and people’s attitudes toward the courts. It provides a clue to understand the trajectory of the Chinese courts, the legal system, and the relationship between law and society in general.

The Role of Horses in the Politics of Late Medieval South Arabia

Horses played a significant role in the social life, economy, and politics of the Rasulid court in late medieval South Arabia. The care and concern for horses as revealed through various administrative documents and chronicle reports, the celebration of great horsemen and the qualities associated with them, and the prominent appearance of horses in public and more private ceremonies all demonstrate the great extent to which they were valued. While previous research has focused upon the breeding and sale of horses by the Rasulids, this paper more deeply explores the ways in which they were used in the political machinations of the sultans. In this way, both the bestowal of horses as gifts in exchanges with foreign and local parties, as well as the confiscation and redistribution of horses among various groups within South Arabia, served as powerful means of mediation for the sultans to negotiate their political relations.

Admiral Matelieff’s Singapore and Johor (1606–1616) ed. by Peter Borschberg

Reviewed by: Admiral Matelieff’s Singapore and Johor (1606–1616) ed. by Peter Borschberg Dhiravat Na Pombejra Admiral Matelieff’s Singapore and Johor (1606–1616) Peter Borschberg (ed.) Singapore: NUS Press, 2016. ISBN: 978-981-4722-18-6. 260pp. This attractive paperback, with a generous number of beautiful and apposite illustrations, is designed for use by students as well as advanced researchers. It contains a long introduction of over 80 pages by the editor, Peter Borschberg, lucidly outlining the issues covered by the contents of the book. This is followed by a selection of documents and document extracts around and about the voyage of Admiral Cornelis Matelieff (or Matelief) de Jonge to Johor or, as the title insists, ‘Singapore and Johor’. Many of the texts come from the former working papers of Hugo Grotius. At the end of the book are a glossary and list of place names, both extremely useful tools in helping the reader make sense of the documents. Peter Borschberg has assembled a collection of rarely studied sources, notably Matelieff’s ‘memorials’ concerning the Singapore-Johor region and the state of Dutch trade in the East Indies. This is a continuation of his scholarly, detailed and often revelatory studies on the area’s geo-political and historical significance [End Page 144] during the early seventeenth century. Borschberg has previously published a monograph on the Singapore and Melaka Straits region, as well as edited the writings of the Flemish trader Jacques de Coutre, some of which concerns the Singapore-Johor-Melaka area.1 Two of the longest documents in this volume are the excerpts from Admiral Matelieff’s Journal of his voyage to Asia (1605–1608), and excerpt from Matelieff’s Memorial of June 1607, both of which contain astute observations on Johor, on the conclusion of the Dutch–Johor treaties of May and September 1606 as well as other related matters. Other fascinating documents include the letters written by King Ala’udin of Johor and Raja Bongsu to Prince Maurits (the stadhouder or Stadholder of the Dutch Republic). Although translated from the original Malay into Dutch (and now into English), they still reflect a Malay perception of diplomacy and international relations. The study of diplomatic correspondence between Asian potentates and European rulers or governors-general continues to be essential to a deeper understanding of how the rulers of indigenous states dealt with Western diplomatic and commercial norms. The archives of the Dutch United East India Company (VOC) are especially rich in this genre of correspondence, for instance the diplomatic letters from Asian rulers to the Governors-General and Council in Batavia included in the daily journals of Batavia Castle (Daghregister Batavia).2 A key issue analysed in this volume (and the analysis may be found both in Borschberg’s own introduction and the sources themselves) is the VOC’s search for a suitable spot to serve as a ‘rendezvous’ or ‘central warehouse’ for its ships, cargoes and merchants in Southeast Asia. The Matelieff documents reveal that around 1606 Jayakerta (the future Batavia) was far from being the only possible candidate as the VOC’s headquarters in the Indies. The Singapore-Johor area, especially the site of present-day Singapore, was also seriously considered, as were Aceh, Melaka (then still in Portuguese hands), Palembang, Banten, and even Pulau Condor and the Spice Islands. That the Dutch eventually opted for a location near the Sunda Straits (rather than Singapore or Melaka Straits) was because of a perception (espoused by Matelieff) that those seas were navigable all year round, unaffected by monsoons. Such an advantage would enable Dutch vessels to travel without costly delays. Other factors which weakened Johor’s case were the apparent instability of Johorese court politics and the lure of Malukan spices. Though the book’s major emphasis is on Dutch perceptions and decision-making, the Malay element is never neglected by Borschberg. Indeed, he manfully grapples with the complex nomenclature as well as the convoluted intrigues of the leading personalities at the Johor court. However much focus is concentrated on the figure of Matelieff and, to a lesser extent, on his fellow-admiral Pieter Willemsz Verhoeff, the royal house and orang kaya of Johor also feature...

Monarquía y montaje en las loas de Sor Juana

La alabanza de la monarquía resalta de modo significativo en la trayectoria literaria de Sor Juana desde su primer poema publicado preconventualmente hasta un texto mencionado (aún no encontrado) en la Fama póstuma. El doble montaje de sus siete loas a los monarcas –escenificación virreinal y publicación en España– está estrechamente vinculado a la ubicación de los virreyes dentro de la política de la corte madrileña.

News and Rumour in Jacobean England: Information, Court Politics and Diplomacy, 1618–25, by David Coast

‘News’ encompasses a great deal for early modern historians, and this useful study from David Coast illuminates one of its more neglected elements: the circulation of information at the highest levels of politics and diplomacy. Its focus is unapologetically on the elites, and on the few years at the end of James I’s reign when tensions over foreign policy in particular made the manipulation of information an essential political skill. The book starts at the top, with the flow of information to and from James I, through courtiers and diplomats. In the first chapter, Coast argues that the ‘reversionary interest’ gained greater control over the gathering of information in James’s last years, while James retained control of decision-making (and was less manipulated than Elizabeth I had been). It is suggestively argued that James was a clever manipulator of information himself, making use of his servants’ deviations from his instructions and creating plausible ambiguity around his intentions. In Chapter Two, Coast addresses the question of whether there was a ‘crisis of counsel’ in the 1620s (finding it to have been ‘overstated’), looking further at the king’s own efforts to control the flow of news and (in a theme which recurs throughout) to shape perceptions of himself and his policies through ‘outward shows’. He demonstrates that James deliberately withheld information, attempted to prevent news from reaching the public sphere and made intentionally misleading informal hints and gestures in order to cloak his intentions with regard to Europe in particular, which permitted him to court all sides. James’s efforts could not completely quell the flow of news, however, and other sources sometimes leaked the information which he sought to contain. Contemporary commentary noted James’s attempts to foster ambiguity, and Coast argues that, while it was accepted that some matters were arcana imperii, people became suspicious of the king’s intentions and scrutinised the news, assuming that it may well have been intended to mislead. Here it is particularly frustrating that the case-studies are not set into a wider context, as surely the high tension of Elizabethan politics, news and rumour in the 1580s and 1590s (which has been very well served in the historiography) played its part in fostering the suspicion and paranoia which Coast seems to ascribe wholly to this short period of James’s reign. The third chapter’s case-studies of political rumour offer little to surprise, but a wealth of examples of how rumours circulated and how people sought to manipulate them. The focus, as throughout, is at an elite and largely metropolitan level: where ‘popular opinion’ enters the story it is essentially as something in which the political classes might have been interested. A section challenging commonly-held models of how rumour worked (suggesting that sometimes rumour could be deliberately manipulated to political ends) seems slightly at odds with the thrust of the rest of the chapter; more suggestive is the section on attempts to influence the king through the report, or spreading, of rumours. The most promising elements of this chapter are developed in the subsequent one, on rumour in court politics: Coast is at his most compelling when forensically dissecting the operation of court politics, and, while there may be no grand revision here (we know that it was fraught in James’s later years), there is a fine collection of detail. James’s personal style of rule gave rumour considerable power at court; while this was less distinctive of James’s court than Coast suggests (the Elizabethan background could add much here), he shows effectively how even lesser attendees at court could influence the rise and fall of others through gossip, rumour, ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation’.

Mourning During the Tongzhi Regency

The Tongzhi Regency (1861–1875), historiographically marked as the beginning of the Qing dynasty's (1644–1912) decline, also saw the emergence of a new political alliance between the Han Chinese grand councilors / Hanlin academicians and the Empress Dowagers Ci'an and Cixi, who ruled from behind the curtains with the former's support. The Hanlin academicians gained their high positions partly from their allegiance to the empress dowagers but largely through patron–client networks, which were based on native-place associations and scholarly interests. Using the case of Li Hongzao (1820–1897), the chief tutor of the Tongzhi Emperor, this article argues that, to him, such networks mattered more than the empress dowagers’ favor and recognition, and that his situation reveals the dynamics of late Qing court politics. In particular, the article focuses on how Li was able to use his appointment as Tongzhi's chief tutor to defy the wishes of the court and mourn his adoptive mother, showing the limits of late Qing imperial power in the realm of Confucian discourse.

Raising <em>infanta</em> Catalina de Aragón to be Catherine queen of England

This study examines the household of infanta Catalina de Aragon, youngest daughter of Isabel of Castile and Fernando of Aragon, to demonstrate how trusted women at court provided the foundation for Catalina’s transformation from Spanish infanta to English queen. Using account records from the court of her mother and records from English royal sources, this essay focuses four women in particular –Ines Vanegas, Maria de Rojas, Maria de Salinas, Elvira Manuel– who were deeply embedded in a complex kin and patronage network at court. Their tutelage and loyalty prepared Catalina to navigate the complexity of court politics in Tudor England.

Katherine Butler.Music in Elizabethan Court Politics.

Katherine Butler.<i>Music in Elizabethan Court Politics</i>.

The High Court, the Constitution and Australian Politics

The High Court, the Constitution and Australian Politics

Building Power: Conspicuous Consumption, Projection of Identity, and Female Power in the Late Seventh and Early Eighth Centuries

This article explores propaganda and self-portrayals among women rulers in seventh and eighth century Tang China, a unique era in which court politics were dominated by female leaders. I analyze the way in which these leaders themselves wished to be rhetorically constructed, the images and allusions with which they desired to be figured, and the way in which they were rhetorically reconstructed by later writers after their deaths. I focus on the theme of auspiciousness—in particular, the definition of the “natural” in relation to gender identity and power. Female imagery is deployed in late seventh- and early eighth-century works to create the image of a particular brand of far-reaching, generative power possessed and/or desired by the leaders of the time. Beyond revealing the images and allusions with which the female power-holders wished to hear themselves be described and exalted, and what occasions were deemed worthy of exalting, these works offer a fascinating counterpoint to materials which retroactively defame this image. The rhetorical strategies and images later used to delegitimize and denigrate the power of these women often represent opposite treatments of themes present in the court literature from the Zhou-Jinglong era. This paper argues that reconstructions of these women’s identities as female power-holders indicate the prerogative of later writers to reshape their images in accordance with their own judgments, conceptualizations, and fears of female power.

The Judiciary in Myanmar: Beyond Reform?

The courts in Myanmar have been a topic of heated discussion in the post-2011 environment. Yet in contrast to many other areas of governance and administration, the courts are one sector where reform has been less evident or obvious. In fact, while many have been calling for greater judicial independence, the current framework in effect pulls in the opposite direction towards centralisation and executive-military control over the courts. This raises the broader question: what is the role of the courts in Myanmar post-2011? The three top parallel courts in Myanmar are the Constitutional Tribunal, the Courts Martial and the Union Supreme Court. The Constitutional Tribunal is a new institution introduced in 2011, but has heard only about 11 cases, has been marginalised and therefore lacking in political influence. The Courts Martial are a black hole in terms of academic research, given the difficulties of obtaining access to information on these courts. The Supreme Court is therefore the most active, dealing with hundreds of cases per year, and is perhaps the most politically influential court of the three. This chapter therefore focuses on the role and function of the Supreme Court, and the courts below it, under the quasi-civilian regime. The literature around the role and politics of courts, and of courts in authoritarian regimes, is vast and complex (see for example Ginsburg and Moustafa 2008). In this chapter I unpack the role of the courts in Myanmar and its relationship to the other institutions of governance. First, I show how the composition of the Supreme Court points to the influence of the executive over the courts. Second, the authority of the Supreme Court in terms of its original and appellate jurisdiction, and its reporting, law- making and supervisory functions are focused on keeping the lower courts in-line. Third, the new authority the Supreme Court has to hear cases concerning complaints against government decisions is a form of procedural authoritarianism to keep lower courts in check. Finally, I show how the court’s jurisdiction is subject to change by parliament, and recent legislation affecting family law will raise new and difficult social and legal questions for the courts in the future.

Music in Elizabethan Court Politics. Katherine Butler.

<i>Music in Elizabethan Court Politics</i>. Katherine Butler.

Where the Two Worlds Met: Spreading a Buddhist Canon in Wanli (1573–1620) China

AbstractThe imperial bestowal, as a major way of distributing the Buddhist canon, profoundly affected the contours of Buddhism in late imperial China. But why did the inner court engage in the distribution? How did it choose the recipient from the outside world? How was it possible for an aspirant to the canon to win out among the competitors? These questions concern the dynamics and mechanism behind the diffusion of the canon. They also cast new light on the relationship between Buddhism and the state and local society by revealing how the two otherwise separated worlds interacted. This paper is intended to tackle these unexplored questions by examining the extensive bestowal of the Ming Beizang during the Wanli court (1573–1620). It first makes a survey, revealing how uneven the distribution was in terms of both time and region. It then explores the motives of the imperial members as patrons in the context of court politics. Its focus, however, is on the agents and elements working behind the selection of the beneficiaries, and how their interplays conditioned the influence of the canon in local societies. In the process, the roles of the emperor, court women, eunuchs, officials, monks, and local elites are all examined.

Court politics in a federal polity

ABSTRACTThis article uses a case study from Queensland to demonstrate the court politics approach's potential to reinvigorate executive studies. Court politics focuses on webs of interdependence within the core executive. It examines the beliefs and practices of elite actors and their fluid and contingent relationships. This article examines the patterns of executive politics that prevailed under Premier Anna Bligh. It seeks to answer three key questions. First, why is court politics a useful approach to studying the Australian core executive? Second, what is the nature and extent of court politics in Australian state governments? Finally, recognising that local traditions shape the beliefs and practices of political elites, how does the court politics approach need to be modified for application in Australia?