The Power of Necessity
Reason of State in the Spanish Monarchy, c. 1590–1650

Exploring reason of state in a global monarchy, this book bridges the gap between theory and practice in political thought.

Lisa Kattenberg (Author)

9781316513149, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 5 January 2023

325 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 2.1 cm, 0.58 kg

Exploring reason of state in a global monarchy, The Power of Necessity examines how thinkers and agents in the Spanish monarchy navigated the tension between political pragmatism and moral-religious principle. This tension lies at the very heart of Counter-Reformation reason of state. Nowhere was the need for pragmatic state management greater than in the overstretched Spanish Empire of the seventeenth century. However, pragmatic politics were problematic for a Catholic monarchy steeped in ideals of justice and divine justifications of power and kingship. Presenting a broad cast of characters from across Europe, and uniting published sources with a wide range of archival material, Lisa Kattenberg shows how non-canonical thinkers and agents confronted the political-moral dilemmas of their age by creatively employing the legitimizing power of necessity. Pioneering new ways of bridging the persistent gap between theory and practice in the history of political thought, The Power of Necessity casts fresh light on the struggle to preserve the monarchy in a modernizing world.

1. Introduction: politics between principle and pragmatism
2. Necessity and counter-reformation reason of state
3. 'The inexhaustible ocean of politics': Tacitus and the political counsel of history
4. Virgilio Malvezzi and the mosaics of morality and necessity
5. Experience, conscience and necessity: Spanish debates about peace or truce in the Netherlands
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Political leaders & leadership [JPHL], History of ideas [JFCX], Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], European history [HBJD]