Weapons Law in Western Europe, 1550-2020

1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-032-58943-5
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 238 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 325 g

Reihe: Routledge Studies in Modern European History

This book is a transnational history of European weapons law that utilizes the law and primary sources to trace the development from early portable firearms to modern-day weapons.

Challenging many conventional assumptions, this book establishes that weapons control in the current sense is a new phenomenon. Control with possession only became dominant between 1918 and 1939, thereby establishing a high degree of uniformity for the first time. Weapons law is old in Western Europe, but only as a palette of possible solutions. Possession control triumphed as a tool against Communist and Fascist attacks on democracy and remained as an instrument against crime and accidents. It is argued that previously the laws on possession furthered rather than hindered ownership. For centuries, governments sought security by encouraging trusted men to arm themselves, rather than disarming the suspect. Legislators used a range of carrying restrictions, sometimes many but mostly few, as a tool against armed crime. The author examines attitudes and policies towards power, law, violence, social hierarchy, national defence, and civic freedom.

This volume offers historians and social scientists a new perspective on the long-term development of Western European states and societies, and it will be of value to undergraduate and postgraduate students of history, sociology, and politics.

Zielgruppe

Academic, General, and Postgraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Lind, Gunner

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Weltgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Pacified social spaces and the hierarchy of arms, 1550-1800 2. Liberal revolutions and conservative constitutions, 1789-1871 3. Industrial firearms, 1870-1914 4. Militant democracy, 1914-1939 5. As few weapons as possible among the population, 1940-2020

Über Autor(innen)

Gunner Lind is Professor Emeritus of Early Modern History, University of Copenhagen. He has published extensively on the history of Denmark on themes including the military, public administration, and social elites.