The politics of voluntariness in modern history: introduction.

The introduction to the theme issue on the Politics of Voluntariness in Modern History starts by discussing the origins and uses of the liberal discourse on voluntariness in the seventeenth century. It was during this period that philosophers and politicians began to present voluntariness as specifi...

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Published in:Rethinking History Vol. 29; no. 1; pp. 1 - 12
Main Authors: Martschukat, Jürgen, Oeser, Alexandra
Format: Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Mar2025
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Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        atl: The politics of voluntariness in modern history: introduction.
      aug:
        au:
          Martschukat, Jürgen
          Oeser, Alexandra
        affil:
          History, University of Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany
          Sociology, University Paris-Nanterre, Nanterre, France
      su:
        Volunteer service
        Liberalism
        Authoritarianism
        Philosophers
        Germany
      sug:
        subj:
          Germany
          Volunteer service
          Liberalism
          Authoritarianism
          Philosophers
      keyword:
        dictatorships
        liberalism
        politics
        Switzerland
        United States
        Voluntariness
      ab: The introduction to the theme issue on the Politics of Voluntariness in Modern History starts by discussing the origins and uses of the liberal discourse on voluntariness in the seventeenth century. It was during this period that philosophers and politicians began to present voluntariness as specific to liberalism. By the same token, voluntariness and authoritarian rule have been declared incompatible. This introduction and the papers in the theme issue critically discuss the exclusive linkage of voluntariness and liberalism – an interpretation that fails to capture authoritarian governing in its entirety, while ignoring compulsory and exclusionary practices in liberal societies. This theme issue shows voluntariness to be essential to policies and political practices in both liberal and illiberal societies. Political practices are at the core of our articles: amid a web of actors, institutions, discourses, and expectations, the individual means and capacity to act voluntarily, make choices, and overcome constraints are historically and socially variable. The introduction and the theme issue explore this variability to illuminate how voluntariness operates as a driving force for political practices in liberal and illiberal societies, drawing on case studies from German, Swiss, and U.S.-American history in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
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    language: English
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