Joseph de Maistre ou de la force de l’espace public européen et de la fin de l’Europe

In 1819, in a famous letter, Joseph de Maistre wrote: "I die wit Europe, I am in good company". This essay focuses on the theoretical and political reasons that lay behind this desperate statement. It sheds light on the contribution provided by counter-revolutionary rhetoric to the concept of the "European Middle Ages", and it highlights the paradox identified by the Maistre, whereby the emergence and strengthening of a European public sphere is coupled with the gradual and inexorable weakening of Europe itself.