Keen On

Episode 1605: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to Natasha Wheatley, the author of THE LIFE AND DEATH OF STATES, about the Central Europe and the transformation of modern sovereignty from empire to democracyAssistant Professor of History at Princeton, Natasha Wheatley is an historian of modern European and international history, with broad interests in intellectual and legal history, Central Europe, and the history of international law. Her book The Life and Death of States: Central Europe and the Transformation of Modern Sovereignty was published by Princeton University Press in spring 2023. It recovers Habsburg Central Europe as a crucible for modern statehood and modern legal thought. The radical mismatch between theories of singular sovereignty and the empire’s plural, layered legal order pushed politicians as well as scholars like Hans Kelsen toward bold new conceptions of the state and the nature of law. The book follows a recurring set of questions about the juridical birth, death, and survival of sta