Globale Monarchie
Royale Begegnungen und die Ordnung der Welt im imperialen Zeitalter
[Global Monarchy. Royal Encounters and the Order of the World in the Imperial Age]

Monarchy is one of the oldest political institutions in human history. During the imperial era, most non-European monarchies fell prey to European colonialism. For the few principalities outside Europe that kept their independence, relations to the courts of Europe were of existential political interest. The Osman sultan, the king of Siam, the king of Hawaii, and the Persian shah, among others, travelled to Europe during the era of high imperialism. As was common, the visiting monarchs were ceremonially welcomed in the European capitals of the 19th century.

This volume explores the history of these European journeys. It shows how the monarchs represented their country during their official visits to the European courts and how rituals such as the exchange of gifts, the awarding of medals, and the participation in military parades supported their dynastic legitimacy and sovereignty. Furthermore, it investigates to what extent official visits by non-European monarchs offered an opportunity to integrate their country into an order of international relations dominated by European powers.

David Motadel is Associate Professor of International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He studied and received his doctorate at Cambridge. He was a visiting scholar at Harvard, Yale, Oxford, the Sorbonne, the Sciences Po, and the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. Motadel is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. In 2018, he received the Leverhulme Prize for History.