Vattel dopo Vattel: il problema dei piccoli Stati nelle letture e ricezioni tra Settecento e Ottocento

Trampus, Antonio

Interpreters of the work of Emer de Vattel have long been – and to some degree still are – faced with a dilemma concerning the degree of its originality and his ability to step away from the jurisdictional tradition in which he developed his ideas. The question, however, appears to gradually lose its importance the more one investigates the circulation and reception of the Droit des gens after the author’s death in 1767. In other words, the relationship between the author’s fame and the success of his work appears to represent one of those typical situations in which a work is disseminated and its success is amplified beyond and regardless of the specific intentions of its creator. This essay analyses some aspects of the reception of Vattel’s Droit des gens between Corsica, Switzerland and German countries – especially the university of Göttingen in the second half of 18th century and during the Restoration (1814-1830).

Interpreters of the work of Emer de Vattel have long been - and to some degree still are - faced with a dilemma concerning the degree of its originality and his ability to step away from the jurisdictional tradition in which he developed his ideas. The question, however, appears to gradually lose its importance the more one investigates the circulation and reception of the Droit des gens after the author's death in 1767. In other words, the relationship between the author's fame and the success of his work appears to represent one of those typical situations in which a work is disseminated and its success is amplified beyond and regardless of the specific intentions of its creator. This essay analyses some aspects of the reception of Vattel's Droit des gens between Corsica, Switzerland and German countries - especially the university of Göttingen in the second half of 18th century and during the Restoration (1814-1830).