University of Heidelberg

A5 Nationising the Dynasty

Nationising the Dynasty. Asymmetrical Flows in Conceptions of Government

Coordination: Barbara Mittler, Gita Dharampal-Frick, Thomas Maissen, Bernd Schneidmüller

Abstract

In conventional historiography, dynasty and nation are generally considered as opposed entities of idealized rulership which have become exemplary for much of Europe and Asia at different points in time. Sacral-royal metaphysic is presented as the polar opposite of the national ideal.

What is new about our project is that we are trying to interrogate how far such a dichotomous view can really be sustained, and we provoke these enquiries by emphasizing the liminal borders between the monarchic order and the national polity.
Through analysis of representations, symbols and rituals as well as engagement with theoretical discourses, myths and mentalities we investigate the symbiotic relations between monarchic dynastism and nationalism, and want to analyse how these seemingly opposed conceptions of political order can also interact with, and support, each other.

We argue that the process of nationizing the dynasty, or in some cases, even of dynastizing the nation, forms a key element in the formation of a modern national body politic.