Royal mistresses governed states indirectly by using lovers as instruments

Evidence

In early modern Europe, and certainly in the postcolonial Third World, these tend generally to parade one or another sort of patrimonialism, entailing more or less elaborate and confining relations of patronage, and often depending upon the symbolism, if not the reality, of kinship: godfatherhoods, brotherhoods, fictive ‘families’ of all kinds. — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 1594 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

Category: Definitional Content

Related

• Patrimonial elites extend control through fictive kinship and patronage networks (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Imperial domination operates through seduction and consent #corroborates (0.75)
• Patrimonial elites extend control through fictive kinship and patronage networks #expands (0.72) — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 1594