Duksenes republikk: fransk elitisme og dens samfunnsmessige konsekvenser

Er det en sammenheng mellom den franske elitismen og et demokratisk underskudd i fransk innenriks- og utenrikspolitikk? I denne studien argumenterer Kai Østberg for at den formelle demokratiske kanal i dagens Frankrike lider under alvorlige mangler, og at rekrutteringen av den franske makteliten er en viktig del av forklaringen. Østberg gjør rede for den franske elitens posisjoner, privilegier og rekruttering, og drøfter betydningen av denne elitens holdninger for sosiale og politiske forhold i Frankrike

Satiren og demokratiet

Abstract The article argues that the satirical magazines Kometen (1842) and Krydseren (1849–1854) helped extend the range of the freedom of speech and served a democratic purpose in the balance of powers. They did this by mitigating the fear of authority and by ridiculing those who made false claims to political or social superiority, especially within the elite of the capital Kristiania. Kometen and Krydseren also paved the way for allowing manifestly opposing interests to clash in the public sphere. They thus contributed to bursting the straitjacket of consensus, an ideal which had been held up as the ultimate goal of public discussion by the governing elite. This was an important step in the process of the formation of political parties. The flip side of the satirical activity was less conducive to democracy. Contempt for lack of linguistic ability and intellectual finesse led the magazines to attack the provincial press with as much urban arrogance as the one they fustigated in their Kristiania opponents. Even worse, after the democratic Thrane-movement had been crushed, Krydseren relished ridiculing the linguistic clumsiness of the worker’s newspaper. Later on, Krydseren claimed in earnest that insufficient linguistic mastery was the real reason the Thrane-movement had been crushed by the authorities

Norge sett fra vrangsiden

Abstract The new, comparatively democratic political regime established in Norway in 1814 was founded on liberalism and the separation of powers. This called for a reformation of the administrative habits and mentalities of absolutism, in essence of the entire political culture. In this introduction the concept of political culture is discussed, and the idea of its darker flip side is introduced and defined. A key point is that whereas the political culture is acknowledged by the historical agents themselves, the flip side is shamefacedly hidden away or more or less unconsciously reproduced. The redefinition of the borders between the public and the private spheres is central to the societal transformations that we put into focus in this special issue. These aspects of the political culture that were unacknowledged or tainted with shame related to both the private and the public spheres, but above all to the gray area in between the two, like in the cases of the MeToo-campaign beginning in 2017. What follows is a few examples from the different articles: Social scorn as a remnant from the society of orders. Excessive demands for correct and principled discussion in the public sphere, which considerably narrowed effective freedom of speech. Satirists mocking the powerless in public for their lack of linguistic finesse. Popular meetings fostering public untruthfulness. Policies for temperance aimed at the poor and sparing the drinking habits of the “better” class of society. Doctors fighting scientific progress for ideological reasons, or to preserve their own prestige and power

Satiren og demokratiet Kometens og Krydserens spydstikk mot makten – og mot avmakten

The article argues that the satirical magazines Kometen (1842) and Krydseren (1849–1854) helped extend the range of the freedom of speech and served a democratic purpose in the balance of powers. They did this by mitigating the fear of authority and by ridiculing those who made false claims to political or social superiority, especially within the elite of the capital Kristiania. Kometen and Krydseren also paved the way for allowing manifestly opposing interests to clash in the public sphere. They thus contributed to bursting the straitjacket of consensus, an ideal which had been held up as the ultimate goal of public discussion by the governing elite. This was an important step in the process of the formation of political parties. The flip side of the satirical activity was less conducive to democracy. Contempt for lack of linguistic ability and intellectual finesse led the magazines to attack the provincial press with as much urban arrogance as the one they fustigated in their Kristiania opponents. Even worse, after the democratic Thrane-movement had been crushed, Krydseren relished ridiculing the linguistic clumsiness of the worker’s newspaper. Later on, Krydseren claimed in earnest that insufficient linguistic mastery was the real reason the Thrane-movement had been crushed by the authorities

Aux antipodes de la société de cour. La défense de la constitution norvégienne après 1814 – Liberté paysanne et style des élites

In 1814, the Norwegians adopted a constitution that was quite democratic, relatively speaking. This article discusses to what extent Norwegians’ attitudes, manners and social norms made Norwegian society well disposed to encouraging this constitutional arrangement. The Danish-Norwegian elite had idealised the Norwegian farmer, praising his simplicity, straightforwardness, candidness and independence. In the conflicts with the Swedes from 1814 and onwards, the elite adopted these traits as political and cultural markers of a typically Norwegian spirit of liberty, even though they retained considerable condescendance for real peasants as political actors. At the same time, some of the long term conditions of Norwegian rural society indicate that this national identity, rapidly evolving in the nineteenth century, was not without foundation. These conditions included a limited nobility with few privileges and extensive peasant ownership. Furthermore, even leaseholders were well-protected by the law and enjoyed considerable freedom in the daily management of the estate

Norge sett fra vrangsiden Politiske kulturer og ukulturer på 1800-tallet

The new, comparatively democratic political regime established in Norway in 1814 was founded on liberalism and the separation of powers. This called for a reformation of the administrative habits and mentalities of absolutism, in essence of the entire political culture. In this introduction the concept of political culture is discussed, and the idea of its darker flip side is introduced and defined. A key point is that whereas the political culture is acknowledged by the historical agents themselves, the flip side is shamefacedly hidden away or more or less unconsciously reproduced. The redefinition of the borders between the public and the private spheres is central to the societal transformations that we put into focus in this special issue. These aspects of the political culture that were unacknowledged or tainted with shame related to both the private and the public spheres, but above all to the gray area in between the two, like in the cases of the MeToo-campaign beginning in 2017. What follows is a few examples from the different articles: Social scorn as a remnant from the society of orders. Excessive demands for correct and principled discussion in the public sphere, which considerably narrowed effective freedom of speech. Satirists mocking the powerless in public for their lack of linguistic finesse. Popular meetings fostering public untruthfulness. Policies for temperance aimed at the poor and sparing the drinking habits of the “better” class of society. Doctors fighting scientific progress for ideological reasons, or to preserve their own prestige and power

Dilettantisme, demokrati og nasjonal selvstendighet. Bernt Anker og Christiania-elitens teaterlidenskap - og ønsket om å gi Norge en plass på verdensscenen

Hva er sammenhengen mellom dilettantisme og demokrati? Kan den aristokratiske storkjøpmannen Bernt Anker (1746–1805) sies å ha bidratt til utviklingen av demokrati og nasjonal selvstendighet i Norge, i kraft av sin åpenbare psykologiske disposisjon for dilettantisme? I så fall hvordan? I svaret på de to siste spørsmålene er Bernt Ankers sentrale plass i Christiania-elitens amatørteatervirksomhet viktig. Denne artikkelen vil derfor dels dreie seg om Bernt Ankers personlige rolle i det sene 1700-talls Christiania (og Danmark-Norge og Europa), dels om det amatørteatermiljø han var den fremste representant for

Satiren og demokratiet Kometens og Krydserens spydstikk mot makten – og mot avmakten

The article argues that the satirical magazines Kometen (1842) and Krydseren (1849–1854) helped extend the range of the freedom of speech and served a democratic purpose in the balance of powers. They did this by mitigating the fear of authority and by ridiculing those who made false claims to political or social superiority, especially within the elite of the capital Kristiania. Kometen and Krydseren also paved the way for allowing manifestly opposing interests to clash in the public sphere. They thus contributed to bursting the straitjacket of consensus, an ideal which had been held up as the ultimate goal of public discussion by the governing elite. This was an important step in the process of the formation of political parties. The flip side of the satirical activity was less conducive to democracy. Contempt for lack of linguistic ability and intellectual finesse led the magazines to attack the provincial press with as much urban arrogance as the one they fustigated in their Kristiania opponents. Even worse, after the democratic Thrane-movement had been crushed, Krydseren relished ridiculing the linguistic clumsiness of the worker’s newspaper. Later on, Krydseren claimed in earnest that insufficient linguistic mastery was the real reason the Thrane-movement had been crushed by the authorities

The power of reputation. Navigating conflicting notions of honour within the elite of Denmark-Norway, c. 1784–1814

In the second half of the 18th century, the foundation of monarchical and aristocratic power and prestige was challenged by notions of essential equality and a transformed idea of merit. The elite continued to pursue the traditional marks of distinction, but this behaviour was often accompanied by a discourse stressing the unimportance of such vain and worldly concerns for the truly enlightened person. This article seeks firstly to demonstrate how strong, albeit increasingly ambivalent, sensitivity to such matters was, through analysis of the correspondence of a selection of elite persons. Secondly, it shows the significance of this attitude in its contemporary social and political framework, by analysing legislation concerning rank and honour. This legislation kept alive the hankering after rank, at the very same time that legal and moralizing texts were concerned with the problem of people chasing a ‘false’ honour. These systemic contradictions in the monarchy were reflected in the qualms experienced by its public servants on a personal level. The article argues that the public servants’ doubts about their self-worth probably contributed to eroding their belief in the legitimacy of the regime