Federative ideas in Rousseau´s thought

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29105/aitias6.11-103

Keywords:

Rousseau, Constitutional writings, Federalism, General Will, International conflicts

Abstract

This article examines early modern peace projects aimed at the territorial reorganisation of Europe and the establishment of a balance of power to avoid war conflicts. Although they did not develop an explicit federalist theory, they contributed to the emergence of modern federalism by proposing a possible union of European states. Two cycles can be distinguished in these projects: a medieval one and a post-Westphalian one, focused on the peaceful resolution of disputes. The text explores Jean-Jacques Rousseau's relationship with these projects, placing him in the second cycle. It analyses three of his key works: the ‘Extract from the Project of Perpetual Peace’ (1760), the ‘Draft Constitution of Corsica’ (1764) and the ‘Considerations on the Government of Poland’ (1771), in order to understand his federative ideas and the tensions between the national interest and the General Will in confederation contexts.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Barudio, Günter. La Época del Absolutismo y la Ilustración. México: Siglo XXI, 1983.

Bull, Hedley. “Society and Anarchy in International Relations.” En Diplomatic Investigations: Essays in the Theory of International Relations, editado por Herbert Butterfield y Martin Wight, 35–50. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1966.

Caram, Cintia. “Notas sobre Patriotismo y Cosmopolitismo en Jean-Jacques Rousseau.” En Sujeto, Realidad y Política: miradas sobre la Modernidad, 105–118. San Miguel: Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, 2017.

Duarte Martínez, Carlos Arturo. “La República Corsa y la invención de una Constitución liberal (1755).” Historia Constitucional 23, (2022): 237–265.

Duchhardt, Heinz. La Época del Absolutismo. Madrid: Alianza, 1992.

Elazar, Daniel. Exploring Federalism. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1987.

Ganshof, François-Louis. “Técnica de las Relaciones Internacionales durante los tres últimos siglos de la Edad Media.” En Historia de las Relaciones Internacionales, editado por Pierre Renouvin, 216–246. Madrid: Aguilar, 1960.

Heater, Derek. World Citizenship and Government Cosmopolitan Ideas in the History of Western Political Thought. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 1996.

Kvetina, Jan. “The Polish Early Modern Republic as the Other Europe: The Sarmatian Moment of Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the Polish Political Discourse.” En The Unwanted Europeanness?, editado por B. Radeljić, 29–54. Berlin & Boston: De Gruyter, 2021.

Riley, Patrick. “Rousseau as a Theorist of National and International Federalism,” Publius 3, no. 1 (1973): 5–17.

Rousseau, Jean Jacques. El Contrato Social, traducido por Mariano Moreno. Buenos Aires: Centro Editor de Cultura, 2005.

Rousseau, Jean Jacques. “Resumen del Proyecto de Paz del Abate Saint-Pierre.” En Escritos Políticos, traducido por José Rubio Carracedo, 19–49. Madrid: Trotta, 2006.

Rousseau, Jean Jacques. Discurso sobre el Origen de la Desigualdad entre los Hombres, traducido por Ángel Pumarega. Buenos Aires: Libertador, 2010.

Rousseau, Jean Jacques. Escritos Constitucionales, traducido y editado por Antonio Hermosa Andújar. Madrid: Tecnos, 2016.

Sabbagh, Daniel. “William Penn et L’abbe De Saint·Pierre: Le Chainon Manquant.” Revue de synthèse 4 (1997): 83–105.

Stone, Daniel. The Polish-Lithuanian State, 1386–1795. Seattle & London: University of Washington Press, 2001.

Talini, Giulio. “Saint-Pierre, British Pacifism and the Quest for Perpetual Peace (1693–1748).” History of European Ideas 46, no. 8 (2020): 1–18.

Valdivares Suárez, María Ludivina. La Búsqueda del Leviatán Europeo: la Construcción de la Unión de Europa en los Proyectos de Paz de Europa. Gijón: Trea, 2010.

Van Heerikhuizen, Annemarie. “How God Disappeared from Europe: Visions of a United Europe from Erasmus to Kant.” The European Legacy 13, no. 4 (2008): 401–411.

Waltz, Kenneth. Man, the Estate and War. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001.

Walzer, Michael. Just and Unjust Wars. A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations. New York: Basic Books, 2006.

Waksman, Vera. El Laberinto de la Libertad. Política, educación y filosofía en la obra de Rousseau. Buenos Aires: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2016.

Zeller, G. “Nueva Crisis en el Este. El primer reparto de Polonia y la entrada de los rusos en el Mar Negro.” En Historia de las Relaciones Internacionales, editado por Pierre Renouvin, 709–722. Madrid: Aguilar, 1960.

Published

2026-01-09

How to Cite

Rocca, G. (2026). Federative ideas in Rousseau´s thought. Aitias, Revista De Filosofía Del CEH, 6(11), 25–53. https://doi.org/10.29105/aitias6.11-103

Issue

Section

Dossier

Categories