De la république : la méthode, le mot et le concept vus du XXIe siècle
The article discusses the lessons to be learned from Claudia Moatti’s Res publica. Histoire romaine de la chose publique from a political science perspective. The first part focuses on the conceptual method. Against positivist uses of language and perspectives that essentialise concepts, history whi...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | fra |
| Published: |
École Normale Supérieure de Lyon
2023-12-01
|
| Series: | Astérion |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/asterion/10378 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | The article discusses the lessons to be learned from Claudia Moatti’s Res publica. Histoire romaine de la chose publique from a political science perspective. The first part focuses on the conceptual method. Against positivist uses of language and perspectives that essentialise concepts, history which takes contexts and semantic variations seriously is crucial. This semantic multiplicity must, in turn, be understood as political. Although the oscillations of the expression res publica require analyses focusing on the short term, the long term and the comparative perspectives imply conversely to identify ideal-types. The second part of the article analyses the contemporary interpretations of the republic, and the uses of the word. The different terms inherited from res publica have lost their political centrality, with two important exceptions: on the one hand, political theory and the history of ideas that claim to be republican; on the other hand, the French political-intellectual sphere. In both cases, the “republic” at stake is closer to the second ideal-type identified by Moatti, which emphasises unity and consensus, and considers res publica firstly as a public power. Contemporary supporters of the first ideal-type, which promotes collective action, revolt, active citizenship and the diversity of the commonwealth, tend to abandon the term republic and turn to different ones, especially democracy. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1762-6110 |