Between power and rebellion: rethinking authority

Abstract

One of the main goals of this paper is to dissociate and disentangle the concepts of power and authority in light of the late medieval insurrections and fights in the commune of Milan and, then, to comprehend the ambivalent and ambiguous dimension of authority. Analyzing these historical events, I will try to show that authority does not always or necessarily belong to the government, nor can it only be an instrument of this one. In fact, it is more interesting to explore the other side of this question: how the usage of authority could become an instrument of counter-power. In this sense, I will examine how and why some rebellions challenged the power basing their claims not only on an attack against the official authority but vindicating an alternative one. That is, how and why the category of authority could turn into the source of legitimacy for insurrection.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21747/21836892/fil33a17