Federalism and Conflict Resolution in Greek Antiquity

Dove: piattaforma Zoom

La conflittualità di frontiera è un Leitmotiv della storia greca antica: le testimonianze antiche restituiscono un quadro ricco e variegato di contese secolari, talora ‘risolte’ con modalità violente, talora affidate a un arbitrato. Cosa accade quando la regione in cui si trovano le comunità politiche contendenti sviluppa un organismo regionale ‘sovrastatale’ a carattere ‘federale’? Perché in certi casi  l’arbitrato è affidato a un’istituzione ‘federale’, in altri a una comunità politica esterna all’ organismo ‘federale’? Che ruolo giocano networks rituali e forme di 'cooperative coinage'? Questi sono solo alcuni dei quesiti al centro del ciclo di webinar “Federalism and Conflict Resolution in Greek Antiquity”.

Alcuni webinars sono parte del Progetto di didattica sperimentale “Neighborhood in Ancient Greece: Interpoleic Relations before, in or outside of ‘Federal’ Contexts” promosso dal CeASUm, altri rientrano nel Progetto Starting Grant d’Ateneo Giovani Ricercatori 2020.

Ogni webinar sarà preceduto da un laboratorio opzionale di preparazione organizzato con il supporto del tutorato di Storia nel quale le studentesse e gli studenti suddivisi in gruppi lavoreranno autonomamente nelle breakout rooms di zoom su tasks preparati dalla docente in collaborazione con i tutores. La composizione dei gruppi, ispirata al principio del knowledge sharing, sarà organizzata in modo da incrociare il più possibile le competenze dei suoi membri, rilevate in precedenza attraverso un questionario. I tasks saranno incentrati sui temi che tratteranno gli esperti durante il workshop e prevedranno l’analisi di documenti e la lettura di articoli scientifici nella lingua e sul tema delle relazioni e concordati con i relatori: a ciascun gruppo sarà stato assegnato il tema di una delle relazioni tenute nel contesto del workshop. Saranno anche previste attività di preparazione e consolidamento in lingua inglese focalizzate in particolare sul microlinguaggio della disciplina. Dopo ogni webinar avrà luogo un laboratorio di consolidamento dedicato alla discussione dei passaggi più complessi delle relazioni e all’analisi delle fonti discusse dai relatori.

Iscrizione obbligatoria compilando il form online entro le ore 12.00 del 29.04.2021 (il link Zoom sarà inviato un'ora prima dell'inizio dell'evento)

Il prossimo appuntamento​

Venerdì 30 aprile 2021, ore 9.00

From Conflict Resolution to Cooperation: some Case Studies in Central Greece and in the Peloponnese

• Introduce Maurizio Giangiulio (Università degli Studi di Trento)

Neighbourhood Bully?  The Aggressive Thessaly and Political Cooperation in Archaic Central Greece

• Emma Aston, University of Reading

Traditionally, the region of Thessaly in northern Greece has been accorded a pivotal role in other states’ political development: by invading in force, it has been suggested, the Thessalians stimulated both the Phokians and the Boiotians to achieve a new level of military and civic co-ordination at the end of the sixth century BC and the beginning of the fifth.  In other words, when we enquire into the emergence of federal institutions in these communities, one causal factor emerges as decisive: Thessaly.  The need to band together to hold off the fearsome Thessalian cavalry was, it has been argued, the catalyst behind the shift from general ethnos-awareness (based on shared myths and cults) to the political institutions of the koinon, at least in their nascent form.  There was nothing better than a shared enemy for making Greek poleis find ways of resolving the conflicts between them, at least to the extent required to co-operate in the formation of shared political institutions.
Without discarding this model entirely, I shall examine it critically from three basic perspectives.  First, I shall suggest ways in which the picture of the aggressive Thessaly does not accord entirely with our evidence for that region and its interactions in the Archaic period.  Second, I shall question the heavy emphasis we tend to place on conflict as a generator of political co-operation between poleis in this period.  Third, I shall argue that the idea of the aggressive Thessaly derives in part from a certain discourse of decline and nostalgia in the historiography of the region, which requires critical scrutiny.  The overall aim is to arrive at a more nuanced understanding of how communities in central and northern Greece interacted during this formative phase of Greek political development.

The Spatial Politics of Federalism. A Voyage along the Kopais Corridor in Boiotia

• Hans Beck, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster

Boiotia has long been known as home to a refined federal state (koinon), both in the Classical and Hellenistic Periods. Yet the region and its people were not always united. Orchomenos in particular was a notorious outsider; in Homer’s poetry, it was considered leader of the legendary Minyans rather than part of Boiotia. Literary evidence, although somewhat overstating the case, speaks of multiple moments of hostilities between Thebes and Orchomenos. The earliest coinge, too, attests to Orchomenos’ standing apart, as do the first epigraphically attested dedications of the Boiotians. The extension of Boiotian ethnogenesis to embrace Orchomenos and the subsequent integration of the city and ist surroundings into the Boiotian koinon are in desperate need of explanation. In my paper, I will examine the local dynamics along the main travel route between Orchomenos and Thebes. Exploring the early history of four sanctuaries – the Itonion, Alalkomenai, Tilphossa, and Onchestos –, I will demonstrate how these sites transformed the southern shores of Lake Kopais into a corridor charged with collective sentiment and meaning. By the sixth century BCE, the area was a critical canvas for the projection of Boiotian togetherness and, effectively, instrumental to the alignment with Orchomenos. The rise of an intermediary federal space, situated both physically and metaphorically in-between the members of a federal state, also triggers the complicated question of spatial dynamics in an ancient Greek koinon, which I shall dare to ponder in conclusion.

Federalism before Federalism: Religious, Economic, and Military Interaction in Early Arkadia

• Angela Ganter, Universität Regensburg

Though scholars tend to agree that in the early Vth century BC there was no Arkadian federal state in the strict sense of the word, the riddle of the ARKADIKON coinage challenges this opinion. Now, a recently discovered festival calendar from the early fifth century BC gives new insights into regional cooperation in Arkadia. By departing from this challenging inscription, the contribution relates the evidence to debates on regional interaction in Archaic Greece. Does it help to re-evaluate the importance of religious, economic, and military integration within a region that was subdivided into sub-regional hegemonies? Does it shed new light on modes of cooperation within a region that was shaken by conflicts between the most important poleis and their local spheres of influence? Arkadia is a challenging example for multi-faceted layers of interaction that were embedded in the local and the regional realm, but also transcended it. In a nutshell, the festival calendar depicts phenomena of ethnogenesis and federalism before federalism.

Interstate Arbitration in the Achaean Koinon

• Kaja Harter-Uibopuu, Universität Hamburg

Peaceful relations between the members of a Koinon were the necessary prerequisite for the functioning of any federal organisation. Especially in the turbulent 3rd century BC, however, local conflicts between the poleis in the Peloponnese were on the agenda and led to disputes both in the area of interstate relations and within the cities themselves. Arbitration, i.e. the decision of conflicts by an impartial third party, had always been known to the Greeks as an effective means of maintaining peace. Therefore, it was used both in the context of the extensions of the Achaean Koinon and in disputes between its members - not always successfully, as I will show in my paper.

Il programma completo

Martedì 2 marzo 2021, ore 10.00

Federalism and Conflict Resolution: Conditions for Success and Evidence from Overseas France and Myanmar

Il primo webinar si colloca nella prima metà del corso (prima settimana di marzo) e prevede l’intervento di un giurista e di una politologa attivi presso l’Institute for comparative federalism dell’Eurac (Matteo Nicolini ed Elisabeth Alber). L’obiettivo è introdurre gli studenti e le studentesse a una tematica al momento molto dibattuta nei federal studies: il federalismo come mezzo di risoluzione dei conflitti.

• Elisabeth Alber, Institute for Comparative Federalism, Eurac Bolzano

Both states and the international community increasingly recommend and use federalism, as well as other tools of autonomy, such as devolution and decentralization, as a means of managing and, where possible, solving conflicts following ethnic or cultural divides. Understanding how and under which conditions federalism can help to mitigate, transform and solve (violent) conflicts, or, at least, help to alleviate tensions within multinational states and diverse political systems is anything but simple. In the presentation, I offer insights on the following question: How do actors involved in conflicts view federalism as a tool for conflict resolution? I highlight how actors in Oceania Overseas France (New Caledonia) and Southeast Asia (Myanmar) advance federal discourses while voicing their claims and tabling their interests, in, across and between governmental levels. Before referring to these cases, I briefly introduce the main characteristics of a federation and its governance principles. This to show to what extent the “federal toolbox” can be of help for governing territorial and societal pluralism also in states that formally do not fall under the category of federal states.

• Matteo Nicolini, Università degli Studi di Verona-Newcastle University Law School

Tra territori, identità e conflitti. Percorsi culturali e storici del federalismo

Lungi dal rappresentare una mera tecnica di governo delle comunità, il federalismo esibisce una profonda dimensione territoriale e politica. Questo ci induce a considerare il ruolo dei territori, degli interessi e anche della dimensione del conflitto nell’esame delle strutture più profonde del governo delle società complesse. La lezione si focalizzerà in modo particolare sul rapporto tra federalismo, assetti federalistici  e dimensione territoriale della politicità, fornendo agli studenti e alle studentesse  le chiavi di lettura, gli strumenti linguistici e concettuali per meglio rappresentare dal punto di vista storico e culturale questo importante meccanismo di governance delle società.

Venerdì 30 aprile 2021, ore 9.00

From Conflict Resolution to Cooperation: some Case Studies in Central Greece and in the Peloponnese

• Introduce Maurizio Giangiulio (Università degli Studi di Trento)

Neighbourhood Bully?  The Aggressive Thessaly and Political Cooperation in Archaic Central Greece

• Emma Aston, University of Reading

Traditionally, the region of Thessaly in northern Greece has been accorded a pivotal role in other states’ political development: by invading in force, it has been suggested, the Thessalians stimulated both the Phokians and the Boiotians to achieve a new level of military and civic co-ordination at the end of the sixth century BC and the beginning of the fifth.  In other words, when we enquire into the emergence of federal institutions in these communities, one causal factor emerges as decisive: Thessaly.  The need to band together to hold off the fearsome Thessalian cavalry was, it has been argued, the catalyst behind the shift from general ethnos-awareness (based on shared myths and cults) to the political institutions of the koinon, at least in their nascent form.  There was nothing better than a shared enemy for making Greek poleis find ways of resolving the conflicts between them, at least to the extent required to co-operate in the formation of shared political institutions.
Without discarding this model entirely, I shall examine it critically from three basic perspectives.  First, I shall suggest ways in which the picture of the aggressive Thessaly does not accord entirely with our evidence for that region and its interactions in the Archaic period.  Second, I shall question the heavy emphasis we tend to place on conflict as a generator of political co-operation between poleis in this period.  Third, I shall argue that the idea of the aggressive Thessaly derives in part from a certain discourse of decline and nostalgia in the historiography of the region, which requires critical scrutiny.  The overall aim is to arrive at a more nuanced understanding of how communities in central and northern Greece interacted during this formative phase of Greek political development.

The Spatial Politics of Federalism. A Voyage along the Kopais Corridor in Boiotia

• Hans Beck, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster

Boiotia has long been known as home to a refined federal state (koinon), both in the Classical and Hellenistic Periods. Yet the region and its people were not always united. Orchomenos in particular was a notorious outsider; in Homer’s poetry, it was considered leader of the legendary Minyans rather than part of Boiotia. Literary evidence, although somewhat overstating the case, speaks of multiple moments of hostilities between Thebes and Orchomenos. The earliest coinge, too, attests to Orchomenos’ standing apart, as do the first epigraphically attested dedications of the Boiotians. The extension of Boiotian ethnogenesis to embrace Orchomenos and the subsequent integration of the city and ist surroundings into the Boiotian koinon are in desperate need of explanation. In my paper, I will examine the local dynamics along the main travel route between Orchomenos and Thebes. Exploring the early history of four sanctuaries – the Itonion, Alalkomenai, Tilphossa, and Onchestos –, I will demonstrate how these sites transformed the southern shores of Lake Kopais into a corridor charged with collective sentiment and meaning. By the sixth century BCE, the area was a critical canvas for the projection of Boiotian togetherness and, effectively, instrumental to the alignment with Orchomenos. The rise of an intermediary federal space, situated both physically and metaphorically in-between the members of a federal state, also triggers the complicated question of spatial dynamics in an ancient Greek koinon, which I shall dare to ponder in conclusion.

Federalism before Federalism: Religious, Economic, and Military Interaction in Early Arkadia

• Angela Ganter, Universität Regensburg

Though scholars tend to agree that in the early Vth century BC there was no Arkadian federal state in the strict sense of the word, the riddle of the ARKADIKON coinage challenges this opinion. Now, a recently discovered festival calendar from the early fifth century BC gives new insights into regional cooperation in Arkadia. By departing from this challenging inscription, the contribution relates the evidence to debates on regional interaction in Archaic Greece. Does it help to re-evaluate the importance of religious, economic, and military integration within a region that was subdivided into sub-regional hegemonies? Does it shed new light on modes of cooperation within a region that was shaken by conflicts between the most important poleis and their local spheres of influence? Arkadia is a challenging example for multi-faceted layers of interaction that were embedded in the local and the regional realm, but also transcended it. In a nutshell, the festival calendar depicts phenomena of ethnogenesis and federalism before federalism.

Interstate Arbitration in the Achaean Koinon

• Kaja Harter-Uibopuu, Universität Hamburg

Peaceful relations between the members of a Koinon were the necessary prerequisite for the functioning of any federal organisation. Especially in the turbulent 3rd century BC, however, local conflicts between the poleis in the Peloponnese were on the agenda and led to disputes both in the area of interstate relations and within the cities themselves. Arbitration, i.e. the decision of conflicts by an impartial third party, had always been known to the Greeks as an effective means of maintaining peace. Therefore, it was used both in the context of the extensions of the Achaean Koinon and in disputes between its members - not always successfully, as I will show in my paper.

Responsabilità scientifica e didattica: 
Elena Franchi

Contatti:
Staff di Dipartimento di Lettere e Filosofia
staffdip.lett [at] unitn.it
Tel. 0461/281788