Armin von Bogdandy’s Hegelianism

<div> In his book The Emergence of European Society thorough Public Law Armin von Bogdandy places himself “in the tradition established” by Hegel with his <i>Outlines of the Philosophy of Right</i>. Nevertheless, the meaning and scope of Bogdandy’s Hegelianism are not self-evident and have given rise to perplexities - paradigmatically expressed by Martin Loughlin, according to whom Bogdandy’s analysis of the transformations of European Public Law “more closely adheres to Kant’s” approach than to Hegel’s one. On this background, the present article aims to contribute to a proper understanding of Bogdandy’s European Hegelianism, by shedding light on the hermeneutical assumptions which underly Bogdandy’s avowedly selective, “syncretic” and “productive use” of Hegel’s method and notions. </div> <div> <br> </div> <div> To this end, the essay is articulated in three sections. Firstly, Bogdandy’s analysis of the transformation of European public law’s “basic concepts” (<i>Grundbegriffe</i>) will be examined - in the light of Hegel’s “Labour of the Concept” and Koselleck’s programme of <i>Begriffsgeschichte</i> (§1). Second, the interpretative assumptions that underpin Bogdandy’s unorthodox utilisation of the Hegelian categories of State and society will be explicated (§2). Finally, the focus will be on Bogdandy’s relationship with Habermas’s thought, in order to demonstrate that – to a certain extent – Hegel’s philosophy does represent a meeting ground between them, whilst their divergences reflect Bogdandy’s rejection of Habermas’ Kantianism (§3). </div>