The Founding of the European Society for the History of Political Thought [ESHPT].

 A European Society for the History of Political Thought has been established. Its fundamental aim is to provide a set of European perspectives on the history of political thinking by highlighting historical approaches to the study of political philosophies and theories, charting their implementation in practice. Political theorising has been one of the most distinctive ‘productions’ generated by European culture. The historical study of this fundamental cultural deposit has served to influence, and continues to inspire, some of our political institutions and cultural attitudes. The study of the history of political thought challenges the proposals for, and the development of, European culture in the 21^st century.

History of the ESHPT project:  A group of academic colleagues from across Europe sought, at first informally, to discuss the implications of the following collective observation: The study of the history of political thought has established itself as an important academic discipline, having been cultivated in most European countries. Sometimes it has been studied from national perspectives, or as a sub-discipline in faculties of political science, law, philosophy, sociology, or contemporary history. Because its practitioners can be found in a variety of university faculties in European universities and research centres it was thought that the establishment of an ESHPT should  bring together senior academics as well as postgraduate students who have an interest in the historical study of European political theorising for the purpose of fruitful debate and discussion.

The aims of ESHPT:

1. To promote the study of the history of the traditions of European political thought.
2. To move beyond national historiographies and open up distinct comparative, trasnational and supra-national perspectives.
3. To promote the historical study of the relationship of the varieties of  European political thought to those of other regions in the world.
4. To provide a forum in which scholars at a relatively early stage in their careers can discuss their work with one another and with more senior researchers in the field.
5. To bring together scholars from a variety of academic disciplines, intellectual approaches, scholarly generations and European regions.

The project to set up a European Society for the History of Political Thought was initially, and with great generosity, supported by Yves Meny, the previous President of the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. The Founding committee, a group of scholars from  Britain, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and Sweden met, 8 September 2008, at the European University Institute. Prof. Lea Campos Boralevi, University of Florence, Italy; Prof. Janet Coleman, London School of Economics and Political Science,U.K.; Prof. Xavier Gil, Univers. de Barcelona, Spain; Prof. Lucien Jaume, Sciences-Po., Paris, France; Prof. Paschalis Kitromilides, University of Athens, Greece; Prof Laszlo Kontler, Central European Univ., Budapest, Hungary; Prof. Bo Strath, University of Helsinki, Finland; Prof. Martin van Gelderen, European University Institute, Florence, Italy. The Society was registered with a public notary in Florence, whereafter the Founding Committee reconvened at the EUI on 13 March 2009 to outline future events and activities.

The Founding Committee agreed that prior to the General Assembly meeting – which would take place following the first conference to be held in Florence 6-7 July 2009 – Prof. Lea Campos Boralevi would act as President and Prof. Martin van Gelderen as Treasurer.

An Inaugural Conference was held at the EUI in July 2009, taking as its theme: Towards a European Political Thought: in the footsteps of Herodotus. Four keynote speakers reflected on their respective approaches to the study of European political thought. Five subsequent panels discussed recent research and methods relating to political theorising and political culture during the longue durée: from antiquity, during the middle ages, in the early modern and the modern periods of European political experience, respectively. A General Assembly thereafter elected the new President, Prof. Paschalis Kitromilides, an Executive Committee, and appointed the Audit Commission. Thanks to the A.G. Leventis Foundation, the ESHPT has been given a grant to enable the publishing house Leo S. Olschki, Florence, to bring out a volume containing some of the proceedings of the first ESHPT conference.

Past Events:

Numerous seminars dealing with the history of political thought take place across Europe, namely those at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, at the European University Institute Postgraduate Conference in the History of Political Thought, organised by Prof Martin van Gelderen (EUI), 1-3 July 2010  and  Civic Duty in Early Modern Europe organised by Prof. Martin van Gelderen (EUI) and Dr. Tomasz Gromelski (EUI/Oxford), 5-6 July 2010,  at the Institute of Historical Research, London, and many other venues.

In future, we would like to co-ordinate our mutual activities and would be grateful to hear about meetings, papers and themes, along with e-mail address lists of colleagues and students in order to help publicise our mutual interests and possibly provide future meetings where we can get to know one another. On our website, we will set up an appropriate e-mail address to which anyone interested might forward their knowledge of such meetings.

Future Events:

Thanks to the efforts of President Paschalis Kitromilides, the second conference of the ESHPT is to take place at the University of  Athens, Greece, 19-20 January 2012. The theme: Athenian Legacies: European Debates on Citizenship. The aim of this conference  is to bring together scholars from different countries to discuss the significance of citizenship: from classical Athenian democracy through subsequent republican and monarchical constitutions, into the present.

Second International Conference

“Athenian Legacies. European Debates on Citizenship”

Athens, 19-20 January 2012

THURSDAY 19 January 10 am: Opening ceremony, Aula Magna, University of Athens

10:00  Greetings: Professor Theodosios Pelegrinis, Rector, University of Athens
Professor M. Tsinisizelis, Dean, School of Law, Economics and Political
Science Professor C. Chrysanthakis, Chairman, Department of PSPA

10:15   Presidential Address: “Redeeming European political thought”
Paschalis M. Kitromilides

10:45 am  Coffee break

11:00-13:00 Session I: Aspects of citizenship in the classical city
Chair: Pericles Vallianos
– Andreas Kalyvas, Solonian citizenship: Democracy, conflict, Participation.
– G. Th. Mavrogordatos, Citizenship and mililitary obligation in classical Athens.
– Ioannis Kyriakantonakis, Initiation and citizenship. An aspect of political                            and  religious life in classical Greece.
– Geoff Kennedy, Senatus Populusque Romanus against the Demos:
Roman republicanism versus Athenian democracy.

15:00-17:00   Session II: Citizenship in Greek political philosophy
Chair: Andreas Kalyvas
– Pericles Vallianos, Law as mediation and the protection of the
private sphere in the late Plato.
– Anthony Makrydemetres, Citizenship and leadership in Plato’s
Politicus.
– Dimitrios Mourtzilas, The notion of citizenship in Aristotle’s
Politics.
– Charilaos Platanakis, Aristotle on political participation.

All working sessions will take place in the Ioannis Drakopoulos Aphitheatre in the central building of the University of Athens.

17:15-18:30 Session III: Renaissance conceptions of citizenship
Chair: Tony Molho
– Adrianna Zangara, La démocratie athénienne vue dépuis Florence:
Machiavelli, Guicciardini, Giannotti et la question de l’ostracisme.
– Marco Giani, Athenian ostracism in Venetian disguise: an historical
diatribe in late Renaissance Italy.
– Xavier Gil, Citizenship, liberty and obligation in early modern
Spanish political thought.

19:00  General Assembly ESHPT

21:30 Dinner

FRIDAY 20 January 2012

10:00-11:30  Session IV: Ideas of citizenship in early modern political thought
Chair: Xavier Gil
– Thomasz Gromelski, Citizenship in the Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth.
– Luc Borot, A citizenry for expansion in a commonwealth for
expansion: imperialism and democracy in James Harrington’s
political thought.
– Johann Olsthoorn, Forfeiting citizenship: Hobbes on citizens, rebels
and enemies.

12:00-13:30  Session V: Human Nature and Citizenship in an Age of Enlightenment and Revolution
Chair: Lea Campos Boralevi
– Peter Schröder, “Une distinction frivole”: Enlightenment
discussions of citizenship.
– Mark Somos, Rightless savage, chosen nation, or liberties for all:
State of nature and citizenship from Linnaeus to Lafayette, 1735-
1795.
– James Livesey, Georgia on my mind: Civic religion, democracy
and the political practice of La Revelliere-Lepeaux in the crisis of
the Directory 1797-99.

15:00-17:00  Session VI: Classical evocations and the challenge of modernity
Chair: Luc Borot
– Alexander Schmidt, Citizenship, Bildung, and the limit of state
action in late eighteenth century German thought.
– Alexandra Lianeri, The antipolitical in Greek tragedy and modern
critical citizenship: Translating Antigone in nineteenth century
European political thought.
– Charles Clavey, Athens in Weimar: Werner Jaeger, political life
and the turn towards normativity.
– Niall Bond, Citizenship in community and citizenship in society:
applications of Ferdinand Tönnies’ Gemeinschaft-Gesellschaft
dichotomy to appurtenance to a polity.

17:15-18:45 Session VII: Contemporary challenges
Chair: Gregory Molyvas
– Giuseppe Ballacci, Actualizing democratic citizenship: Arendt and
classical rhetoric on judgement and persuasion.
– Davide Cadeddu, The active citizenship of twentieth-century
Intellectuals.
– Konstantinos Papageorgiou, Cosmopolitan citizenship, a complex
view.

21:00 Farewell dinner

Participants

– Giuseppe Ballacci, University of Minho, Portugal
– Niall Bond, University of Lyon Luc Borot, University of Montpellier III and Maison Française, University of Oxford
– Davide Cadeddu, University of Milan
– Lea Campos Boralevi, University of Florence
– Charles Clavey, Clare College, University of Cambridge
– Marco Giani, University of Venice
– Xavier Gill, University of Barcelona
– Thomasz Gromelski, University of Oxford
– Andreas Kalyvas, The New School for Social Research
– Geoff Kennedy, University of Durham
– P. M. Kitromilides, University of Athens
– Ioannis Kyriakantonakis, University of Athens
– Alexandra Lianeri, University of Thessaloniki
– James Livesey, University of Sussex
– Anthony Makrydemetres, University of Athens
– G. Th. Mavrogordatos, University of Athens
– Antony Molho, European University Institute
– Gregory Molyvas, University of Athens
– Dimitrios Mourtzilas, Panteion University
– Johan Olsthoorn, Catholic University of Louvain/FWO-Flanders
– Konstantinos Papageorgiou, University of Athens
– C. Platanakis, Birkbeck College, University of London
– Alexander Schmidt, University of Jena
– Peter Schröder, University College London/VLAC fellow
– Mark Somos, Rechtskulturen, Forum Transregionale Studien, Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin
– Pericles Vallianos, University of Athens
– Adrianna Zangara, University of Paris (Est Creteil)

Programme Committee

Lea Campos Boralevi
Janet Coleman
P. M. Kitromilides

E-mail: pkitrom@eie.gr

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