6533b871fe1ef96bd12d223b

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Parliamentary sources in the comparative study of conceptual history: methodological aspects and illustrations of a research proposal

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SUMMARY This article proposes that historians and political theorists should exploit parliamentary sources to move from the writing of national histories to the comparative study of the conceptual history of European political cultures. Complementing the German lexicographical approach to conceptual history, the authors argue that parliamentary debates in several European countries provide more reliable sources for the past use of the language of politics. They emphasize the possibilities for the study of political history and the rhetoric of parliamentary institutions offered by the use of parliamentary debates side by side with the study of archival sources and published literature. Rhetorical studies and historical analyses of the use of key concepts emphasize speaking as a major form of political action and the value of parliamentary debates independently of the results of the final votes. Parliamentary debates in themselves, as a part of the decision-making process and with their increasing links to ...