Books by Alberto Clerici
Undoubtedly, the history of the ius naturae et gentium in early modern Romeconceived both as an i... more Undoubtedly, the history of the ius naturae et gentium in early modern Romeconceived both as an intellectual tradition and as a new academic discipline coming from Protestant lands-has not attracted much attention from historiography. Scholars have been more interested in the birth of 'public law' and modern 'public international law' on the nineteenth-century Italian Penin-sula1 or, concerning the eighteenth century, the creation and development of official university chairs of 'Law of Nature and of Nations' have aroused greater interest.2 Moreover, the ius naturae et gentium has often been seen, in Italian legal history, only in the light of the traditional conflict between the mos gallicus and mos italicus, and not as an integral part of the intellectual trajectory of a specific academic subject-albeit multifaceted-already widespread in many parts of Europe.3 Moreover, of all the so-called 'ancient States' of 1 Luigi Nuzzo, Origini di una Scienza. Diritto internazionale e colonialismo nel XIX secolo (Frankfurt am Main: Klostermann, 2012). 2 Italo Birocchi, 'L'insegnamento del diritto pubblico nelle Università italiane nel XVIII secolo' , in Science politique et droit public dans les facultés de droit européennes (XIIIe-XVIIIe siècle), ed. Jacques Krynen and Michael Stolleis (Frankfurt am Main: Klostermann, 2008), 549-558; Paolo Alvazzi del Frate, 'La "découverte" du droit constitutionnel. La culture juridique française et les débuts de la science du droit public en Italie à l'époque révolutionnaire' , in Modernisme, tradition et acculturation juridique, ed. Bart Coppein, Fred Stevens and Laurent Waelkens (Bruxelles: Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van België voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten, 2011), 175-180; and the essays by Vittor Ivo Comparato, 'Il diritto di natura a Perugia tra la Repubblica romana e l'Unità' , and by Maria Rosa Di Simone, 'L'Unità d'Italia e l'insegnamento del diritto pubblico all'Università di Roma' , Annali di storia delle università italiane 18 (2014): 221-242, 301-312. 3 On the birth of the new discipline see The Law of Nations and Natural Law 1625-1800, ed. Simone Zurbuchen (Leiden: Brill, 2019). Arguably, most of this scholarship has had a limited impact on international work in the field, for linguistic reasons.
scoppio della sollevazione, Althusius, che io considero legato al cont ,esto dei Paesi B assi tan... more scoppio della sollevazione, Althusius, che io considero legato al cont ,esto dei Paesi B assi tanto quanto a quello tedesco , ma che rappresenta per COSl dire un punto di arrivo , una rielaborazione sistematica di temi precedenti, e inf ine Gro zio e Spinoza, che appartengono però già al gi nsnaán'alismo del S eicento , e al Secolo d Oro (Gouden Eeuw) della repubblica delle Province Unite. Ciò che a me interessa, invece, e capire in che modo e in base a quali argomenti venne legittimata la r ivolta dei Paesi Bassi nei suoi anui più i nteïsi, cioè daUa suc cessione di Fi lippo 1I a suo padre Carlo V, avvenuta nel 1556, f ino alla deposi zione dello stesso Filippo, decretata con atto uf ficiale dagli stati generali di quelle che erano divenute ormai le Provi nce Unite, nel luglio 1 58 1 . i! , Ora, la lJvolta dei Paesi Bassi contro la monarchia spagnola è uno degli avvenimenti più importanf i e interessanti della prima età moderna. I1 suo even to culminante è certamente la deposizione del Re: forse per la prima volta in Europa, su un territorio che andava al di là della semplice città o della signoria feuda le, i rappresentanti di a lcune entità territoriali, mercauti più che nobi li, si riunirono e dichiararono solennemente deposto per tirannia il loro legittimo "principe natura le". Ma come si arrivò all'Atto di Abiura? Attraverso qual i ar gomenti venne giustif icata la resistenza armata?
Papers by Alberto Clerici
Sovereign rebels. Alberico Gentili and the Dutch Revolt «Chi guarda per la prima volta una grande... more Sovereign rebels. Alberico Gentili and the Dutch Revolt «Chi guarda per la prima volta una grande carta dell'Olanda, si meraviglia che un paese così fatto possa esistere» Edmondo De Amicis, Olanda,
Often considered a secularizing force in the rise of the nation state, natural law was also invok... more Often considered a secularizing force in the rise of the nation state, natural law was also invoked in defence of confessional states. The fourteen chapters in this volume show how religious and secularizing approaches to natural and biblical law interacted and combined as early modern states navigated the fallout from the Reformation. From this new perspective, the volume revisits questions of political legitimacy, civic and ecclesiastical authority, societal stability, conceptions of the common good, liberalism's value pluralism (and its pretence), toleration and the lingering humanist project of determining "who are we"-issues that were as important then as they are now.
In Kritik und Crise, Reinhard Koselleck famously linked the beginning of «classical Absolutism» t... more In Kritik und Crise, Reinhard Koselleck famously linked the beginning of «classical Absolutism» to the «general anarchy» of the sixteenth century, when «the entire social order became unhinged». In response to the crisis provoked by the Wars of Religion in Europe, the Flemish humanist Justus Lipsius developed a combination of Stoic morality and Tacitean prudence as a practical guide for men and princes in difficult times, that became very influential among intellectuals and statesmen. While most studies of Lipsius and the Neostoic movement focus on the notions of discipline and the heroic detachment of the citizen in the face of external events, my contention is that in the years between De Constantia (1584) and the Politicorum libri sex (1589) Lipsius, involved in Leicester’s military expedition in the Netherlands, used (with some caution) the Stoic concept of societas hominum, as already present in the early modern discourse on the justification of foreign intervention against tyrants, barbarians and infidels. If then, as far as individual ethics is concerned, the appeal to Stoic authors and sources could provide a coherent moral framework to face a time of crisis, I suggest that on the level of international relations Neostoicism went in the opposite direction, not of self-mastery and obedience to existing authorities, but as a call to political engagement, sharing others’ sufferance and actively resisting the ‘enemies of mankind’, resulting in a problematic and possibly crisis-generating doctrine.
Grotiana , 2019
Willem Van der Muelen (1659-1739), jurist and member of the Dutch urban elite, was the author of ... more Willem Van der Muelen (1659-1739), jurist and member of the Dutch urban elite, was the author of a huge and widely read commentary on Hugo Grotius's De iure belli ac pacis. Defined by the Neapolitan philosopher Giambattista Vico as a simple 'embellisher' of Grotius, but in recent times hailed as 'the Dutch Locke' , Van der Muelen certainly deserves more attention. The essay will focus on the justification of political resistance to the sovereign, a particularly controversial issue both in early-modern political thought and in Grotius himself. I argue that Van der Muelen, far from being a simple 'embellisher' of Grotius, adopts a more radical view based on a strong individualistic and utilitarian anthropology, bridging the Scholastic and monarchomach ideas of resistance-to which he is still indebted-with modern natural law jurisprudence. Thus he offers an interesting companion to Locke as well as a source of inspiration for later commentators such as Jean Barbeyrac.
The Legacy of Vattel's Droit des gens, ed. by Koen Stapelbroek, Antonio Trampus (Palgrave Macmillan), pp. 207-234, 2019
This chapter examines the diffusion and uses of Vattel in the Papal States, analysed by means of ... more This chapter examines the diffusion and uses of Vattel in the Papal States, analysed by means of literature published between 1756 and 1766 and linked to the context and aftermath of the Seven Years' War. 1 The main focus is Appiano Buonafede (1716-1793), trait d'union between the cultural circles of Bologna, Tuscany, Naples and Rome. By analysing his life and work, I intend to reveal how there existed a network of Italian intellectuals who played leading roles in a moment of intense debate
Nicholas of Cusa and the Making of the Early Modern World, ed. by Simon J.G. Burton, Joshua Hollmann and Eric M. Parker, BRILL , 2019
Paolo Sarpi (1552–1623) was a Servite monk, jurist, scientist and controversialist writing in the... more Paolo Sarpi (1552–1623) was a Servite monk, jurist, scientist and controversialist writing in the context of the political struggle between the Holy See and the Republic of Venice at the beginning of the seventeenth century. He is most well known for his History of the Council of Trent (1619), but his scientific achievements were also relevant. Like Cusanus, Sarpi was a student in Padua, and his interest in the Cardinal of Cusa, which is confirmed by direct quotations, ranges from the defense of the free interpretation of Scripture to Copernicanism and cosmology (he was a close friend of Galileo Galilei). But the main link between Sarpi and Cusanus is conciliar theory, upheld by Sarpi against the popes in the age of the attempted secularisation and separation of politics from religion, but also of the beginning of the so-called “nation-states.” The political and intellectual debates over the Venetian Interdetto led to a European-scale dispute between Sarpi and Cardinal Bellarmine, opposing two different ways of interpreting the need for a Catholic Reformation, and demonstrating the strong ties between late medieval conciliarism and early modern constitutionalism.
The contribution explores the reception of Machiavelli in the Low Countries during the second hal... more The contribution explores the reception of Machiavelli in the Low Countries during the second half of the XVIth century, in the context of the revolt against Spain. Special attention is paid to the debates over the legitimacy of breaking faith with heretics and rebels, in search of the intellectual origins of Grotius'plea "pacta sunt servanda".
Taking into account the recent literature on the «transnational» dimension of the italian Risorgi... more Taking into account the recent literature on the «transnational» dimension of the italian Risorgimento, the article analyses the different ways in which more than a few authors were aware of the disappearance of boundaries between nations in the age of the Holy Alliance and the Industrial Revolution (but also of ferries, steamboats and railways). There was a political side of the problem (the struggle for self-determination of peoples and communities), as well as an economic side of it (the growing volume of worldwide commercial transactions). The conclusions here drawn put into question the standard view of the Ottocento as the century of ethnic and cultural nationalisms, at least from the perspective of several italian exiles, patriots and open-minded figures.
Contro l'uguaglianza, contro il privilegio. Il giovane Guizot e i suoi critici (1820)(1821) Calli... more Contro l'uguaglianza, contro il privilegio. Il giovane Guizot e i suoi critici (1820)(1821) Callicle.
i libri di Machiavello sono pur troppo dannosissimi a" giovani e agl"inesperti di governo, agli o... more i libri di Machiavello sono pur troppo dannosissimi a" giovani e agl"inesperti di governo, agli oziosi, ai letterati, ai politici da trivii, a" faccendieri di piazza, ai ciarlatori di conversazioni segrete, ai dittatori di crocchi, a tutta quella sequela di politici sviati che sono trista e pur troppo natural conseguenza della antipolitica Cesare Balbo, Lettere di politica e letteratura (1855)
Zampini subtilis opus subtile, sed in quo Ius, verum, ratio, iudiciumque deest" François Hotman, ... more Zampini subtilis opus subtile, sed in quo Ius, verum, ratio, iudiciumque deest" François Hotman, Ad tractatum Matthaei Zampini... Responsio (1588) 1. Introduzione Negli ultimi vent'anni, gli studi sulle "guerre civili di Francia" hanno subìto un notevole impulso, grazie sopratutto all' assiduo lavoro storiografico di Denis Crouzet ed Arlette Jouanna, e dei loro allievi 1 . Anche l'Italia, che da lungo tempo ha fatto del Cinquecento francese un terreno privilegiato di studi, ha dato alla luce in tale arco temporale contributi di tutto rispetto. 2 Questo non solo per il ben noto coinvolgimento del nostro paese nelle "cose di Francia", in un secolo che vide sangue italiano scorrere nelle vene di ben tre re Valois, figli della "regina madre" Caterina de'Medici, ma anche perché la trama della politica europea era fitta al punto da rendere ormai indispensabile considerare le "guerre di religione" del Cinquecento non come un episodio circoscritto al solo regno di Francia, ma piuttosto come vero e proprio "evento europeo". 3 E così era visto dai contemporanei, a giudicare dalle edizioni e traduzioni, manoscritte e a stampa, dei più rilevanti libelli e documenti ufficiali, nonché dagli epistolari e dai diari di protagonisti e semplici spettatori.
Sarà negotio di sudore, e pena. Guido Bentivoglio, Lettera al Monsignor di Modigliana, agosto ... more Sarà negotio di sudore, e pena. Guido Bentivoglio, Lettera al Monsignor di Modigliana, agosto
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Books by Alberto Clerici
Papers by Alberto Clerici
From Giovanni Botero’sDella Ragion di Stato (1589) right up to ScipioneChiaramonti (1635), reason of state refers to a variegated textual corpus that, besides the explicit reference to the exertion of force, sets up various codes of political conduct aimed at a broader conception of State preservation. This goal is not merely achieved through derogatory policies or extraordinary means, but it is chiefly pursued through ordinary government. In the context of the Counter-reformation, Italian reason of state linkedprincely rule with state administration and governance and ruler’s prudential reason was slowly backed up by a set of practical knowledges: city planning, statistics, political geography, demographics, accounting to name a few.
Thus, Italian reason of state tradition constitutes an autonomous and alternative path with respect to the group of theories, which, in certain European regions, gave rise to the experimentation of sovereignty. Nonetheless, in its very broad sense, it participated in the processes of the so-called modern political rationalization, in a way that is still to be fully investigated, and exercised its influence in various languages and European regions.
Ragion di Stato, Raison d’État, Razon de Estado, Staatsräson: from the end of the Sixteenth-century onwards this expression is in fact translated and adapted to particular regional situations. The differentlanguages and experiences ofEnglish royal (or parliamentary) absolute prerogative, of Germancameralism andpolizei,of French raison d’étatand police, the growing relevance of the “interests of state” in countries such as France, England, the Netherlands:these were allintertwined and concurred to shape the modern idea of the State.
The aim of the conference istwo-fold.
On the one side, it aims at analysing the different theories of reasonof state that were developed in EarlyModern and Modern Europe. We will thus focus on England, France, Germany and the Netherlands in order to highlight their respective specificities as well as their conceptual and historical proximities. We will then compare these experiences with the Italian tradition and contrast them with the contemporary theories of sovereignty in order to clarify their mutual influences and their political, juridical and philosophical backgrounds.
On the other side, the conferenceaims at investigating the relevance of different conceptions of “reason of state” for our contemporary democratic states and societies.In fact, any conception of reason of state seems to bear with itadistinction between moral or juridical normativity (the Right, the Law), the effectivity of ordinary political action, and the necessity to face political and social emergencies.However defined, reason of state is therefore “an art” for governing the State.The changing nature of the State in contemporary globalized democracies poses the question of investigating the changings in the reasons of (the) states.
Nicholas of Cusa and the Making of the Early Modern World
ed. by S.J. Burton, J. Hollmann, E.M. Parker, Brill 2019