Mediators between State and Society

This collection contains seven historical studies that attempt to add dynamics to the strict, theoretical opposition between state and society. The focus selected for this purpose is brokers: people or groups that play the role of mediator between the state's apparatus and the reality of society. Central theme is how the 'dialogue' between state and society is established within a variety of social-historical contexts. The collection of studies goes beyond national borders, discussing both European and non-Western topics including trade unions and groups that were involved in the establishment of social security legislation in the various West European countries, bureaucratic vanguards in the Netherlands and Italy, ethnic minorities in India and Indonesia, and teachers in Surinam. The studies were contributed by the members of the Comparative Social History research group of the Social History department at the Faculty of Historical and Liberal Arts of the Erasmus University in Rotterdam.