Book Presentation: State-Making in an Age of Revolution, 1830-1880

Book Presentation: State-Making in an Age of Revolution, 1830–1880

How did states expand and consolidate their power in the turbulent decades following the revolutions of 1848? The Security History Network is pleased to host Dr. Christos Aliprantis for a presentation of his new edited volume, State-Making in an Age of Revolution, 1830-1880.

This groundbreaking book explores how mid-nineteenth-century officials across Europe put new state-building measures into practice. From France to Hungary, and from Scandinavia to Spain. Drawing on extensive archival research, the contributors reveal how governments relied on elites, professionals, and technical experts, often reaching beyond national borders, to implement reform. The volume offers a fresh perspective on the reach and nature of expanding states during this transformative period.

The book also features a chapter by our own Prof. Dr. Beatrice de Graaf:
“The Mixed Courts of Egypt: A Reform Come True or European Trojan Horse? An Imbalanced Struggle over Statehood, Territoriality, and the Rule of Law in Egypt, 1840–82.”
The volume concludes with a reflection by renowned historian Sir Christopher Clark.

Join us for what promises to be an engaging discussion on 19th-century state formation, reform, and international collaboration in governance.

Sign up by sending an email to w.w.beukers@uu.nl.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Christos Aliprantis is an Associate Professor in Political Science and International Relations at the American College of Thessaloniki in Greece. He studied history in Athens, Vienna, and Budapest, and obtained his PhD at the University of Cambridge. He thereafter held postdoctoral research and teaching positions at the European University Institute, the Ludwig Maximilian University, the Ruhr University Bochum, and the Center for Hellenic Studies of Harvard University. His research interests deal with the history of international relations, of state formation and especially of policing and intelligence in nineteenth and twentieth century Europe and Greece.