Abstract

The article focuses on the pervasive theoretical influence of Carl Schmitt's "On the Concept of the «Political»" on Reinhart Koselleck's methodological reflection concerning the history of political and social concepts. Such an influence works through Schmitt's notions of «sociology of concepts», «epoch» and «friend/enemy» distinction as crucial to the definition of any concept of the Political. Schmitt's sway over Koselleck compromises the idea of a history of political concepts for two reasons: the first is the projection of continuity onto highly differentiated political experiences; the second is the rear projection of the political concepts belonging to modern constitutionalism and to the State as fundamental tools for the reconstruction of ancient and medieval philosophical terminology and political contexts. As a concluding remark, Heidegger's assertion that no modern concept of the Political reaches the essence of the "polis" allows us to problematize both Carl Schmitt's influence on Koselleck and the limits of a history of political concepts as developed in the shadow of Schmitt's (and Weber's) work.