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1. IntroductionThe term “politics” (French  politique; German Politik, etc.) and its related adjective carry two meanings today: (1) in terms of systems, the totality (or specific elements defined by qualification) of the attributes, processes, and structures that go to make up the state or relate to the state, and (2) in terms of action, the efforts expended (not only in government) to achieve particular political goals [18]. Political science has developed a conceptual triad, subdividing the field into policy (the content of political activity), polity …

1. TerminologyThe political term republicanism was coined toward the end of the 17th century in England “as a catchword used to disparage anti-monarchic attitudes bent on establishing a republic” [9. 57]. It was first used in this sense in 18th-century France, until in the second half of the century it took on a positive meaning in the context of the American Revolution and the French Revolution (1789). Today it is employed as a collective term for all ideas and efforts that pursue individual freedom and participatory dem…

The term “despotism” (from Greek despóteia, “the power of a master [over a slave]”), derived from ancient political theory, in the early modern period came to denote in relation to the constitution the deficient form of monarchy, distinguished both from the “good” form of authority and from the unequivocally bad form, tyranny. Despotism was the self-aggrandizing form of governance over subjects either unwilling or unable to participate in the political process, where the primary concern was the interests of the ruler, taking precedence over the common good.The term was curr…

Althusianism is the name modern scholars give to the complex political theory, conceived by Johannes Althusius/Althaus (1557-1638) the Calvinist jurist, rector of the Herborn Academy, and from 1604 city syndic of Emden, in his work Politica methodice digesta (1603, 1610, 1614, 1654; repr. 1617, 1625). Althusianism was received and developed further until around 1650, especially in the Holy Roman Empire [4], the Netherlands, and England and Scotland [1. 291–314]; [5. 157–230]; [6]. Following Ramist methodology (Ramism), Althusius’ work set the new contemporary …

1. BasicsThe emergence of the civil service (Civil servant) in the early modern era was accompanied by a multitude of oral and written discussions of the tasks and qualifications of this new, secondary ruling elite as well as its sociopolitical status. Where the expansion and development of the administration (Government) was especially advanced, by the second half of the 16th century at the latest it gave birth to a formal theory of civil service; beginning in the 18th century, it was informed substantially by juristic issues, to a lesser extent by public economic issues as well.This t…

1. Definition The term aristocracy (literally “rule of the best”), which originated in Ancient Greek political theory, has had three meanings since the Late Middle Ages: (1) from Aristotelian theory of forms of government, it denoted legitimate and just rule (Authority) in pursuit of the common good by a minority considered outstanding through a claim to virtue - this was in contrast to monarchy and democracy and, at least in self-presentation, to oligarchy, being minority rule concerned only with…

1. Literatur 1.1. Begriff und BestimmungDie lit. Gattung der U. (nzl. Kunstwort von griech. ou-tópos, »Nicht-Ort«) hat ihren Ursprung in der 1516 erschienenen neulat. Utopia des engl. Humanisten Thomas More (Morus). Als Prototyp der lit. U. prägte dieses Werk nicht nur ihren Namen, sondern auch die darauf bezogenen späteren Texte, welche im Rückblick die Gattung konstituieren. Definitorisch können diese als von Reise- oder anderen Rahmenerzählungen abhängige, fiktionale Entwürfe vorbildlicher, vernünftiger Gesellschaftsordnungen ohne Anspruch auf Verwirklichung be…

1. Literature 1.1. Concept and definition The literary genre of the utopia (early modern neologism from the Greek ou-tópos, “not-place”) has its origins in the Neo-Latin Utopia  by the English Humanist Thomas More, which was first published in 1516. As the prototype of the literary utopia, this work not only gave the genre its name, but also informed the texts that came in its wake, defining the genre in retrospect. That definition might be expressed as follows: fictional presentations – through travel or other fra…