The outcome of a scientific conference organized in November 2021, this volume aims to provide a picture of how the aristocratic political class of France and Moldavia sought to challenge monarchical power and how the latter tried to reassert itself in face of this turbulent nobility, in the context of the endemic civil wars that plagued both countries during the chosen period. For this purpose, this volume tries to analyze both the ideological issues involved in these endemic struggles, as they appear in the propaganda of the period, and the practical aspects and consequences (political intrigues or military developments) of the conflictual relationship between the rulers of these countries and their discontented nobles. Divided into two sections, one dedicated to the case of France during the Wars of Religion, the other to Moldavia from the beginning of the sixteenth century to the end of the seventeenth century, this volume is also the result of a collaborative work between French and Romanian academics, who thus tried to bridge what seemed like a (large) geographical gap in order to benefit from different perspectives and thus gain a better insight into different (but maybe not so different) models of early modern European political cultures. In the end, despite the distance between them, in early modern France and Moldavia, to effectively challenge the authority of the king or prince, one had to take up arms: and the nobility, who imagined itself first and foremost as a military order, did exactly that. But there is more to this clash between ruler and rebels than a mere contest of military strength. Despite the apparent political and cultural differences between early modern France and Moldavia, there is one common feature that influenced the behaviour of the rebels in both countries: the need for a justification of the revolt. Since the rebels operated in a political environment where the king (or the prince) was the source of all legitimacy (in particular, the nobility was beholden to the traditional aristocratic ethos of loyalty towards the ruler) and this common mentality of politics shaped the actions of the ruling class, they had to persuade the public opinion (domestic or international) of the righteousness of their cause.

"A trenchant analysis of how the wealthiest 9.9 percent of Americans -- those just below the tip of the wealth pyramid -- have exacerbated the growing inequality in our country and distorted our social values"--

An acerbic, withering account of the ascent of the Bush family to the pinnacle of the American political and social elite and the implications of the dynasty's hold on power for democracy in America. With an unerring instinct for fakery and humbug,Phillips traces the convoluted trail of Bush mendacity through three generations. The picture he paints of a family willing to do ANYTHING to hold power and a country so craven as to vote for it is both very funny and completely dismaying in equal measure.

How propaganda undermines democracy and why we need to pay attention Our democracy today is fraught with political campaigns, lobbyists, liberal media, and Fox News commentators, all using language to influence the way we think and reason about public issues. Even so, many of us believe that propaganda and manipulation aren't problems for us—not in the way they were for the totalitarian societies of the mid-twentieth century. In How Propaganda Works, Jason Stanley demonstrates that more attention needs to be paid. He examines how propaganda operates subtly, how it undermines democracy—particularly the ideals of democratic deliberation and equality—and how it has damaged democracies of the past. Focusing on the shortcomings of liberal democratic states, Stanley provides a historically grounded introduction to democratic political theory as a window into the misuse of democratic vocabulary for propaganda's selfish purposes. He lays out historical examples, such as the restructuring of the US public school system at the turn of the twentieth century, to explore how the language of democracy is sometimes used to mask an undemocratic reality. Drawing from a range of sources, including feminist theory, critical race theory, epistemology, formal semantics, educational theory, and social and cognitive psychology, he explains how the manipulative and hypocritical declaration of flawed beliefs and ideologies arises from and perpetuates inequalities in society, such as the racial injustices that commonly occur in the United States. How Propaganda Works shows that an understanding of propaganda and its mechanisms is essential for the preservation and protection of liberal democracies everywhere.

This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. The first major work on noblewomen in the twelfth century and Normandy, and of the ways in which they exercised power. Offers an important reconceptualisation of women’s role in aristocratic society and suggests new ways of looking at lordship and the ruling elite in the high middle ages. Considers a wide range of literary sources such as chronicles, charters, seals and governmental records to draw out a detailed picture of noblewomen in the twelfth-century Anglo-Norman realm. Asserts the importance of the life-cycle in determining the power of aristocratic women. Demonstrates that the influence of gender on lordship was profound, complex and varied.

It has been said that the British Empire, on which the sun never set, meant little to the man in the street. Apart from the jingoist eruptions at the death of Gordon or the relief of Mafeking he remained stonily indifferent to the imperial destiny that beckoned his rulers so alluringly. Strange, then that for three-quarters of a century it was scarcely possible to buy a bar of soap or a tin of biscuits without being reminded of the idea of Empire. Packaging, postcards, music hall, cinema, boy's stories and school books, exhibitions and parades, all conveyed the message that Empire was an adventure and an ennobling responsibility. Army and navy were a sure shield for the mother country and the subject peoples alike. Boys' brigades and Scouts stiffened the backbone of youth who flocked to join. In this illuminating study John M. Mackenzie explores the manifestations of the imperial idea, from the trappings of royalty through writers like G. A. Henty to the humble cigarette card. He shows that it was so powerful and pervasive that it outlived the passing of Empire itself and, as events such as the Falklands 'adventure' showed, the embers continue to smoulder.