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This edited collection presents a pan-European history of intermediary government and administration in nineteenth-century Europe. Taking a closer look at senior government officials who represented the sovereign or state far away from the capital, the book highlights the intermediary nature of their roles, which fell somewhere between the municipality and central bureaucracy. Against the backdrop of revolution and upheaval brought about by the Enlightenment and the First World War, the nineteenth century was a crucial period for reform and political change. Taking a transnational approach, the contributors examine the similarities between the challenges that faced government officials in different European states, focusing on their common role as mediators: firstly, between the 'centre' and the 'peripheries'; and secondly, between the population and hierarchies of power. The status and prerogative of these officials are discussed, providing insights into the lives of French Préfets, Prussian Oberpräsidenten, Austrian Statthalter, Italian Prefetti, dutch Commissarissen des Konings and governors in Russia and Spain. The special case of the United Kingdom, where there were neither prefects nor governors, serves as a mirror. Dismantling the barriers between different national histories, this book represents a comprehensive and comparative investigation into the roles of nineteenth-century provincial administrators in Europe, an important read for anyone researching European political history or the history of the state.
List of contents
1. Introduction: A European History of Provincial Administrations; Pierre Karila-Cohen.- 2. Governors, Governors General and Viceroys in the Russian Empire, 1700-1855; John LeDonne.- 3. From Gouverneur to Statthalter: The Highest Civil Servants of the Austrian Monarchy; Waltraud Heindi.- 4. A French Commentary on the Historiography of German Civil Servants in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries; Marie-Bénédicte Vincent.- 5. Governors and Commissioners of the King in the Netherlands, c. 1800-1900; Martijn van der Burg.- 6. French Préfets and Authority in Nineteenth-century France: Current Knowledge and Research Opportunities; Pierre Karila-Cohen and Gildas Tanguy.- 7. The History of the Italian Prefect: An Interpretational Perspective for a Long Period Analysis, 1800s-1900s; Livio Antonielli.- 8. The Civil Governor in Spain in the Nineteenth Century: Between Centralisation and Militarisation; Manel Risques Corbella.- 9. The Governors of the Late Ottoman Empire; Abdulhamid Kirmizi.- 10. Government without Prefects: The UK's Alternative Model; Joanna Innes.- 11. Conclusion.
About the author
Pierre Karila-Cohen is Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Rennes 2, France. He specialises in the cultural, social, and political history of France and has published several books and articles on the historical ethnology of the state and its servants.
