Schwächediskurse und Ressourcenregime

A new framework for understanding Hanseatic legal history emerges from analyzing discourses of weakness and resource regimes. These concepts reveal that perceived weaknesses, often strategically deployed, can trigger significant shifts in the distribution of resources within historical formations. Unlike traditional economic institutions, 'resource regimes' provide a broader lens to study norms and practices regulating resource allocation, while also offering insight into how law functions as an arena for conflict resolution rather than just abstract norms. Two case studies—one on the Hanseatic debate with England over collective liability in the 1460s and another on disputes within Lübeck’s council around 1410—demonstrate this approach's utility in integrating conflict dynamics into legal history. This study advances a more nuanced, culturally embedded understanding of Hanseatic legal practices.

Cordes, A., Höhn, P., & Krey, A. (2020). Schwächediskurse und Ressourcenregime. Hansische Geschichtsblätter, 134, 167–203. https://doi.org/10.21248/hgbll.2016.36