2023/12/06 by Cristiana Senigaglia · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Hannah Arendt's Political Philosophy #Political Philosophy and Ethics #Political Theology and Sovereignty
paper · pdf · doi:10.33134/rds.409
openalex publication_date 2023/12/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
What are the reasons that lead Max Weber to be a convinced promoter of publicity in the practices of internal politics and, by contrast, advocate secret procedures in international affairs? The analysis aims at clarifying the different arguments utilised by Weber for justifying his apparently contrasting points of view and explains the reasonable motivations that are adduced to legitimate both issues. Since admitting confidential practices does not mean the acceptance of arbitrariness and bare demonstrations of power, it also highlights how Weber accompanies his considerations on the opportunity of the use of confidentiality with the determination of corresponding criteria that have to regulate and circumscribe its use. The present analysis is completed with a comparison with the positions formulated respectively by Immanuel Kant and Jürgen Habermas, who both plead for a public course of politics to be also applied in international affairs and, as a consequence, explicitly reject confidentiality as a legitimate form of dealing with political issues. Finally, it faces the question whether and in which form Weber’s standpoint contrasts with their positions and what are the reasons motivating his different assessments.