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The Early Medieval State

A Strategic-Relational Approach

Bibliographic Data

ID4301047
AuthorsAna Célia Castro (0000-0003-3216-503X, Universidad de Salamanca Salamanca Spain, corresponding author), Carlos Tejerizo‐garcía (0000-0001-9479-2720, Dipartimento di Antichità, Filosofia, Storia Università di Genova Salamanca Spain)
Year2022
Volume35
Issue4
Pages547-566
Publication date2022-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Historical Sociology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0952-1909 • E-ISSN: 1467-6443
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/johs.12392
OpenAlexW4311192796
LanguageEN
References cited116

The state is a contested concept in the historiography on early medieval societies. Debates have frequently revolved around its heuristic validity, but few scholars have addressed its broader theoretical implications. Those who have tend to reduce the state to its institutional features and privilege the role of the dominant groups in the analysis of state-building processes and the workings of the state. This paper contends that a richer conceptualisation of the state can overcome the limits of the debate as it has been framed so far and provide a deeper insight into how social relations shaped and were shaped by the development of early medieval polities. After reviewing the most significant historiographical contributions to the debate, the paper introduces the Strategic-Relational Approach to the state, as formulated by B. Jessop, as one that can provide a more nuanced understanding of early medieval polities. Particular emphasis is made on the analysis of class relationships and the articulation of hegemonic projects as two particularly fruitful lines of inquiry. Finally, the paper focuses on one particular instance of early medieval political practice, the politics of the land, as a means to illustrate the potential of the approach

Articulation (sociology · Epistemology · Hegemony · Historiography · Political science · Politics · Privilege (computing · Social science · Sociology · State (computer science · State formation · Asian Studies and History · Computer Science · Historical Economic and Social Studies · Law · Medieval Literature and History · Philosophy

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