The Hanse

A joint research project with partners in the Baltic Sea region on the legal framework of the Hanse and its institutionalization of law and governance:

This project includes an analysis of the legal framework of the Hanse and the institutionalization of law and governance within the Hanse, which held economic supremacy and was politically dominant in the Baltic Sea Region from 1350-1500. Research so far has focussed on the network character of the Hanse. We take a different perspective and explore whether and to what extent one can attribute a governance dimension to the Hanse by exploring its structures, legal institutions, and substantive rules. The project adopts an interdisciplinary approach and combines insights from legal and political history, comparative, and international law as well as social sciences to capture its overall context. The different perspectives’ common focus lies in the question of whether, and if so, how governance could emerge and work without a government, executive authority, or a constitutional framework.

Events

15-18 September 2022 Workshop in Tallin (Program) (PDF)

2023 International Conference in Hamburg/Lübeck

Previous events

11-14 November 2021 Kick-off workshop in Bergen (Bergen Workshop program) (PDF)

For inquiries, please contact Dr. Anne Dienelt

Funded by Landesforschungsförderung Hamburg as well as by the German federal and state governments as part of the Excellence Strategy funding program for German universities.