Overview
One of the prominent themes of the political history of the 16th and 17th centuries is the waxing influence officials in the exercise of state power, particularly in international relations, as it became impossible for monarchs to stay on top of the increasingly complex demands of ruling. Encompassing a variety of cultural and institutional settings, these essays examine how state secretaries, prime ministers and favourites managed diplomatic personnel and the information flows they generated. They explore how these officials balanced domestic matters with external concerns, and service to the monarch and state with personal ambition. By opening various perspectives on policy-making at the level just below the monarch, this volume offers up rich opportunities for comparative history and a new take on the diplomatic history of the period.
Full Product Details
Author: Paul M. Dover (Associate Professor of History, Kennesaw State University)
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Imprint: Edinburgh University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.60cm
, Height: 2.30cm
, Length: 23.40cm
Weight: 0.629kg
ISBN: 9781474402231
ISBN 10: 1474402232
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 28 June 2016
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Temporarily unavailable
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Reviews
Secretaries and Statecraft in the Early Modern World convincingly demonstrates the complexity of diplomatic action, the power of bureaucrats, and the challenges of the information explosion between the later fifteenth through eighteenth centuries. It embraces global history to show that the approaches and even some of the conclusions of the 'new diplomatic history' are applicable beyond the European continent. Additionally, each essay is carefully constructed, thoughtful, and convincing, while the book’s focus remains consistent throughout. -- Brian Jeffrey Maxson, East Tennessee State University * Journal of Early Modern History * New governing institutions made the early modern centuries an age of secretaries and ministers as well as rulers. This impressive, wide-ranging and notably well edited collection of essays by leading specialists, rescues this key development from previous neglect and will be essential reading for anyone who teaches or studies this period. -- Hamish Scott, University of Glasgow
"New governing institutions made the early modern centuries an age of secretaries and ministers as well as rulers. This impressive, wide-ranging and notably well edited collection of essays by leading specialists, rescues this key development from previous neglect and will be essential reading for anyone who teaches or studies this period.--Hamish Scott, University of Glasgow Secretaries and Statecraft in the Early Modern World convincingly demonstrates the complexity of diplomatic action, the power of bureaucrats, and the challenges of the information explosion between the later fifteenth through eighteenth centuries. It embraces global history to show that the approaches and even some of the conclusions of the 'new diplomatic history' are applicable beyond the European continent. Additionally, each essay is carefully constructed, thoughtful, and convincing, while the book's focus remains consistent throughout.--Brian Jeffrey Maxson, East Tennessee State University ""Journal of Early Modern History"""
Author Information
Paul Dover is Associate Professor of History at Kennesaw State University. He has published widely on the political, diplomatic and cultural history of late medieval and early modern Europe.
