Jean-Philippe Genet has been professor at the University of Paris I (Pantheon-Sorbonne) for many years, specialising in European cultural and political history. He coordinated the CNRS 'Genese de l'Etat moderne' and the ESF 'Origins of the Modern State' programs and more recently the ERC 'Signs and States' project. His publications include La Genese de l'Etat moderne: Culture et societe politique en Angleterre (2003) and Les iles britanniques des origines a la fin du Moyen Age (2005).