Papers by Vasile Mihai Olaru
European Review of History: Revue européenne d'histoire, 2016
There is by now an ample literature which discusses the growing scope of state intervention in so... more There is by now an ample literature which discusses the growing scope of state intervention in social life during the early modern period. Toomas Kotkas adds an important contribution to this bibliography, focusing on the police ordinances in early modern Sweden. He sets out to study the momentous change in early modern legislative thought whereby the law ceased to be an immutable frame of social life, and instead become a malleable instrument in the hands of rulers who sought to reshape society. To carry out his task, the author subjects to scrutiny a massive corpus of royal police ordinances issued from 1523 to 1718 and compiled by Swedish bureaucrats in the eighteenth century. ‘Police’ is used in its early modern sense of ‘societal order including the social, economic, moral and religious spheres’ and the governmental action whereby this order is upheld (p. 1). Accordingly, ecclesiastical and military regulations as well as intra-administrative orders are omitted. Further, Kotkas carefully delineates his study which is neither about the implementation of the royal regulations nor about the police authorities, but about ‘early modern Swedish “legislative doctrine” as it transpires from royal police ordinances’ (p. 12). The core of the book consists of two chapters, one covering roughly the sixteenth century, the other the seventeenth century, analysing police ordinances. They are preceded by a chapter on the legal and political thought in seventeenth century Sweden advocating an active role for the ruler; and followed by a chapter on eighteenth century German and Swedish thought on police science and the dissolution of the broad conception of police. Each of the core chapters is made up of three parts: the analysis of the ordinances which are divided in categories (‘societal and social order, religion’, ‘public safety and order’, ‘economic system and professions’) and subcategories (‘matters of religion’, ‘luxury’, ‘amusement and frivolity’); the justification of the ordinances, as it appears in their preambles; and their logic by which the author refers to the impetus behind the issuing of ordinances, recurrence, addressees, and the relation with medieval law. This structure lends clarity to the author’s exposition and makes it easy for the reader to follow the argument. The sequence of the two chapters is aimed at pointing out the differences between the two periods of research, 1523-1611 and 1612-1718. To make his point the author resorts to quantification and calculation of proportions and to qualitative analysis of the content flaw, as Lydia G. Cochrane’s translation carefully and elegantly renders Le Goff ’s prose, and a very useful index is added at the end. Reading a book by Jacques Le Goff is always stimulating and thought-provoking, and his last one does not disappoint. With his inquiring mind he opened up a new, fresh way of reading one of the masterpieces of the Middle Ages, and we can only regret that this has been his last contribution to our knowledge.
In Royal Police Ordinances in Early Modern Sweden, based on analysis of a large amount of empiric... more In Royal Police Ordinances in Early Modern Sweden, based on analysis of a large amount of empirical material Toomas Kotkas claims that a new, voluntaristic understanding of law emerged in 17th-century Sweden.
Comparative Southeast European Studies
This conference report combines the latest theoretical developments within the areas of corruptio... more This conference report combines the latest theoretical developments within the areas of corruption and informality research in Southeastern Europe from the eighteenth until the twenty-first century with a presentation of the ongoing research conducted by the Regensburg Corruption Cluster and the inputs of some of the leading experts within these fields. The authors outline a practical interdisciplinary framework for developing a historical anthropology of corruption, by integrating knowledge and methods from various disciplines, such as history, linguistics and business studies. In doing so, they show how the ideological–normativistic approaches of the so-called “anticorruption consensus” can be overcome: by lowering the analytical scale to the level of informal practices and following their evolution through historical circumstances. This report also shows the persistent difficulties in establishing “ethical universalism” in Southeastern Europe with examples ranging from eighteenth...
Voices from an era of transition. South Eastern Europe in the 18th Century, 2018
European Review of History: Revue européenne d'histoire , 2016
Südost-Forschungen , 2018
CAS WORKING PAPER SERIES, 2016
PHILOBIBLON. Transylvanian Journal of Multidisciplinary Research in the Humanities, 2015
My article explores the link between the creation of new forms of information storing and state p... more My article explores the link between the creation of new forms of information storing and state power in Walachia during the 18th century. The extant Romanian literature on the topic failed to systematically analyze the emergence and the political dimension of new forms of information storing in Wallachia during the 18th century. Focusing on the multiplication and specialization of registers (condici) used by the Wallachian central administration and judiciary, my article fills this gap and sheds light on the changing nature of the Wallachian state in the course of the 18th century. Hence, I argue that the storing of social knowledge by central state and church institutions enhanced the infrastructural reach of the state and contributed to the naturalization of state power.
Studia Universitatis Babeş-Bolyai, 2013
Abstract. The regulation of agrarian relations was treated in Romanian historiography mainly as a... more Abstract. The regulation of agrarian relations was treated in Romanian historiography mainly as a chapter of economic history, the impact of these regulatory practices upon the growth of the state’s infrastructure and power in 18th century Wallachia receiving no attention. The central argument of my article is that by subjecting the relations between landlords and tenants to a written legal text, the state extended its administrative reach and constituted its apparent neutrality in relation to various social groups. Empirically, my article relies on documents which illustrate the employment of agrarian regulations enacted after 1740 in adjudicating litigations between landlords and tenants. Theoretically, it draws on culturalist revisions of state theory, showing that the state is not merely an institutional assemblage but also a set of practices which produce and reproduce its illusory coherence and naturalize its power.
Book Reviews by Vasile Mihai Olaru
Books by Vasile Mihai Olaru
This book explores the transformation of the state in Wallachia, an Ottoman tributary principalit... more This book explores the transformation of the state in Wallachia, an Ottoman tributary principality, between 1740 and 1800 by focusing on three administrative techniques: regulations, paperwork (registers, identification certificates), and weights and measures. The implementation by the central power of regulations, bookkeeping, certificates, and standard units of measurement was not smooth, but it nevertheless heralded the beginning of the struggle against localism and the efforts to extend the boundaries of legitimate state action. The author challenges the (mostly Romanian) historiography of the Phanariot period, which has portrayed the state as a set of institutions undertaking certain responsibilities and has insisted almost exclusively on its extractive function and abusive character. Instead, this book takes a closer look at how the Wallachian state functioned, examining how its means of interacting with its subjects changed in the second half of the eighteenth century. Rethinking the problem of the state in eighteenth-century Wallachia, traditionally regarded as a mere instrument of Ottoman domination, it claims that it was precisely during this time that the bases of modern statehood were laid in a context defined by imperial rivalries (Ottoman, Habsburg, Russian) in the region. Making the case for state formation in the absence of preparation for war, the author also stresses, in contrast to recent contributions that decentre the state, the need to study the process whereby the effect of state coherence is produced. While focusing on Wallachia, this book provides valuable reading for those interested in early modern administrative and legal history, the history of state formation, and Southeast European history more generally. Vasile Mihai Olaru is a researcher at the "George Bariţiu" Institute of History of the Romanian Academy, Romania. His research interests include early modern history, state formation, the history of corruption, and historiography. Previously, he studied at Central European University in Budapest, where he received his PhD. State Formation in Wallachia, 1740-1800 Regulations, Paperwork, and Metrology va si l e m i h a i ol a ru State Formation in Wallachia, 1740-1800 va si l e m i h a i ol a ru
Charta Studiorum, 2004
Cover, editors and authors, content of the Charta Studiorum, a journal of the free students from ... more Cover, editors and authors, content of the Charta Studiorum, a journal of the free students from History Department at Babes-Bolyai University (Cluj-Napoca), in 2003-2005. The intention of the editors was to support the really passionate students, in publishing their articles, because the Department could not assure such a platform for the interested students, and also to create a common place for both Romanian and Hungarian students and PhD students.
The authorities have not supported us in obtaining ISSN, and that's why this journal hasn't such a number. At some moment the representative of one Publishing House from Cluj, with which the Department cooperated, told me - "I don't give ISSN for such a thing"!
As you can see the journal was really independent and there were no different "honorific committees", "honorific editors" etc. from Department's staff.
I will try to put on-line all the 3 edited issues and the 4th one which remained in pdf...
Also I would like to thank all the persons, who at that moment supported this journal and who also believed in what the editors of the journal believed. The journal succedeed not because of the will of the editors, but because of the real support of the students.
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Papers by Vasile Mihai Olaru
Book Reviews by Vasile Mihai Olaru
Books by Vasile Mihai Olaru
The authorities have not supported us in obtaining ISSN, and that's why this journal hasn't such a number. At some moment the representative of one Publishing House from Cluj, with which the Department cooperated, told me - "I don't give ISSN for such a thing"!
As you can see the journal was really independent and there were no different "honorific committees", "honorific editors" etc. from Department's staff.
I will try to put on-line all the 3 edited issues and the 4th one which remained in pdf...
Also I would like to thank all the persons, who at that moment supported this journal and who also believed in what the editors of the journal believed. The journal succedeed not because of the will of the editors, but because of the real support of the students.
The authorities have not supported us in obtaining ISSN, and that's why this journal hasn't such a number. At some moment the representative of one Publishing House from Cluj, with which the Department cooperated, told me - "I don't give ISSN for such a thing"!
As you can see the journal was really independent and there were no different "honorific committees", "honorific editors" etc. from Department's staff.
I will try to put on-line all the 3 edited issues and the 4th one which remained in pdf...
Also I would like to thank all the persons, who at that moment supported this journal and who also believed in what the editors of the journal believed. The journal succedeed not because of the will of the editors, but because of the real support of the students.