Treason: A Conceptual and Comparative History, 23-24 September 2021
Full programme, and speakers, for the conference
‘Treason’ is a ubiquitous concept in human history, stretching from the ancient world through to the present day. While often thought of as an anachronistic term associated with past despotic governments, it is in fact very much alive in our contemporary world, not least through violent political rhetoric employed by populist leaders around the globe. It is also the ultimate political crime in any state, requiring always the most severe penalties due to the threat to the state community. Yet despite this importance, treason has been surprisingly ignored in the academic scholarship of any discipline. For some periods of history there are indeed some case studies, for others there are none; conceptual or theoretical studies are few.
This online international conference aims to bridge these gaps by aiming ambitiously to create a global history of treason across the centuries. Our themes cover the cultural representation of treason; treason in law; the practice and prosecution of the crime; and the impact and heritage of the subject. While our case studies hail from the ancient and modern eras and from all parts of the world, our purpose will be to make links and to assess ‘treason’ conceptually, teasing out the similarities or differences which have been created by a variety of regimes and political contexts.
For the Zoom link to the event please contact either Dr Andre Krischer (krischer@uni-muenster.de) or Professor Mark Cornwall (jmc3@soton.ac.uk)