The Emperor ́s Desk between the Empire and the Citizen and in between Vienna and the Global

Description

At the heart of the Habsburg Empire, in Vienna, stood one of the most pivotal sites of decision making of the monarchy: the desk of the Emperor. Before the Emperor formally resolved each and every single decision personally, the issues were negotiated within networks of governance and patronage, heavily depending on influential intermediaries, such as the director of Emperor Francis [...] The main challenge regarding my research questions lies with the sources, which only allow the reconstruction of fragmentary networks. Also, essential moments of the examined political culture, e. g. meetings at Cafés or secret talks during gatherings, are at best hinted at in the letters. In my presentation I discuss these difficulties and how other source material available (seating plans) can be consulted in order to enrich fragmentary networks of governance.

Period	28 May 2019
Event title	Networks Across Space and Time
Event type	Conference
Location	GermanyShow on map