Den liberale barbaren Leopold II - Narrativ kring civilisationsstandard i Kongofristaten
(2021) STVK02 20211Department of Political Science
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Invasion, mass warfare, foreign hordes, slaughter and pure evil. When pondering these words one will usually attribute them to the traditional conception of the barbarian, and not to something as seemingly distant as Western civilization.
In this paper I aim to discuss the rare combination of liberal European civilization and its relation with barbarism in general, specifically focusing on the case of the Congo Free State. In late 19th century Europe, the narrative employed by Leopold II, King of the Belgians, sought to legitimize himself as a proponent of civilization and progress, and as a direct consequence cemented his successful candidacy as the owner of the Congo Free State. In the aftermath that followed the end of Leopold’s... (More) - Invasion, mass warfare, foreign hordes, slaughter and pure evil. When pondering these words one will usually attribute them to the traditional conception of the barbarian, and not to something as seemingly distant as Western civilization.
In this paper I aim to discuss the rare combination of liberal European civilization and its relation with barbarism in general, specifically focusing on the case of the Congo Free State. In late 19th century Europe, the narrative employed by Leopold II, King of the Belgians, sought to legitimize himself as a proponent of civilization and progress, and as a direct consequence cemented his successful candidacy as the owner of the Congo Free State. In the aftermath that followed the end of Leopold’s reign as their absolute sovereign, the totality of the terror his rule brought upon Congo was uncovered, and as such the contrary narrative generated inside his domain becomes another fundamental aspect of this paper. The alternative narrative tailored by Leopold II is manifested in a system where liberal barbarians take the stage. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9041861
- author
- Frendin, Harald LU
- supervisor
-
- Martin Hall LU
- organization
- course
- STVK02 20211
- year
- 2021
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Leopold II, Kongofristaten, narrativ, civilisationsstandard, liberal barbarism
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9041861
- date added to LUP
- 2021-05-12 12:14:04
- date last changed
- 2021-05-12 12:14:04
@misc{9041861, abstract = {{Invasion, mass warfare, foreign hordes, slaughter and pure evil. When pondering these words one will usually attribute them to the traditional conception of the barbarian, and not to something as seemingly distant as Western civilization. In this paper I aim to discuss the rare combination of liberal European civilization and its relation with barbarism in general, specifically focusing on the case of the Congo Free State. In late 19th century Europe, the narrative employed by Leopold II, King of the Belgians, sought to legitimize himself as a proponent of civilization and progress, and as a direct consequence cemented his successful candidacy as the owner of the Congo Free State. In the aftermath that followed the end of Leopold’s reign as their absolute sovereign, the totality of the terror his rule brought upon Congo was uncovered, and as such the contrary narrative generated inside his domain becomes another fundamental aspect of this paper. The alternative narrative tailored by Leopold II is manifested in a system where liberal barbarians take the stage.}}, author = {{Frendin, Harald}}, language = {{swe}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{Den liberale barbaren Leopold II - Narrativ kring civilisationsstandard i Kongofristaten}}, year = {{2021}}, }