Abstract

ANKERSMIT GRONINGEN, Frank. History and Political Theory.Translated byAdriana Santoveña Rodríguez. Hist. graf [online]. 2023, n.60, pp.149-179.  Epub Feb 13, 2023. ISSN 1405-0927.  https://doi.org/10.48102/hyg.vi60.429.

This article aims at defining the nature of political theory and its relation to history, where a fundamental tension can be identified: if, on one hand, history became with time not merely the context but the essence of political thought, on the other, a historized political thought, concerned with absolute truths, has been rejected as a contradictio in terminis. In order to explore this tension and its consequences for the development of political theory, the essay first outlines the relation between history and natural law philosophy, and then it dwells on two variants of Machiavellism: one articulated around the notion of arcana imperii and a second one expressed in the discussions on raison d’état. I contend throughout the argument, not only that history and political thought have always been intertwined, but that political thought, in its two Machiavellian variants, lies at the core of historical writing.

Keywords : political theory; history; Leo Strauss; Niccoló Machiavelli; arcana imperii; raison d’état.