Morgenthau revisited: the relations between the German intellectual debate and the formation of the concept of the political in the works of Hans J. Morgenthau until the publication of Politics Among Nations (1948)

• Grant number: 23/03592-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science - Political Theory
• Principal Investigator: Alvaro Gabriel Bianchi Mendez
• Grantee: Gabriel Garcia
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this research is to analyze the relationship between the German intellectual debate and the formation of the concept of the political in the work of Hans J. Morgenthau up to the publication of Politics Among Nations in 1948. The documental analysis to be conducted is based on the contextualist linguistic method developed by the Cambridge School. The documents forming the object of the research are Morgenthau's published and personal manuscripts during the delimited period. The secondary literature to be used focuses on three main themes: (i) Historiographical bibliography on Morgenthau; (ii) Writings dealing with the Staatslehre debate during the Weimar Republic and (iii) The main bibliography on the formation of Political Science and International Relations disciplines in the United States. The hypothesis raised is that the results obtained by a contextualist approach, which clarifies Morgenthau's displaced position within Staatslehre and his writings as an attempt at synthesis and overcoming of the main currents in such area, not only provide a more historically sensitive understanding of the author's work but also contribute to resolve some contradictions and antinomies present in the current historiographical debate on his thought.