Purpose of the lecture series
DEPE lectures introduce novel ways of thinking about the history of political and economic thought. They situate political and economic thought in broader cultural, political and intellectual settings, hence going beyond standard canonical histories that have dominated these fields for too long. In addition, the DEPE lectures explore the possibilities of combining the study of history of political thought and the history of economic thought.
About the lecture
This lecture, followed by a Q&A session, will explore Jonas Nordin’s new book Monarchy in the Age of Liberty: Royal Power and Public Life in Eighteenth‑Century Sweden (Manchester University Press, 2026). The event serves both as a lecture and as the launch of the book.
The book is about the role of monarchy as an institution when the king has no power. During the Age of Liberty (1718–1772), absolutism was abolished in Sweden and the king reduced to a figurehead. Even so, the monarchy continued to be an indispensable part of the form of government. The king’s role in politics and public life is investigated, with special reference to the image of the monarch that was mediated through available channels. A central question is what ordinary subjects thought about the monarch as a person and as a political figure. As the king’s power was curtailed, the symbolic importance and public impact of the monarchy increased. Subjects learned more about the public and private lives of monarchs than ever before, and the period saw some of the most lavish royal ceremonies in Sweden’s history. This is not just a story about the development of ideas and political conditions on the margins of Europe; it is also a story of the public sphere and of political radicalisation in the West decades before the French Revolution.
About the lecturer
Jonas Nordin is professor in book and library history at Lund University. He holds a PhD in History from Stockholm University, where he is also an associate professor. From 2007 to 2018, Professor Nordin worked at the National Library of Sweden (Kungliga biblioteket). His research focuses on the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, combining political and cultural history. He has published a wide range of articles and books, including Ett fattigt men fritt folk: Nationell och politisk självbild i Sverige från sen stormaktstid till slutet av frihetstiden (Eslöv: Symposion, 2000); Frihetstidens monarki: Konungamakt och offentlighet i 1700-talets Sverige (Stockholm: Atlantis, 2009); The Baltic Battle of Books: Formation and Relocation of European Libraries in the Confessional Age (c. 1500-1650) and their Afterlife. Editor together with Gustavs Strenga & Peter Sjökvist (Leiden: Brill, 2023) and Media & Mediation in the Eighteenth Century. Editor together with Penelope Corfield (Lund: Swedish Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies & Division of Book History, 2023).
