Ernesto Massi e Karl Haushofer: la scienza alla conquista della politica

Classical Geopolitics is a prime example for discussing the problematic relationship between the objectivity and neutrality of science since, being the last part of the positivist movement, it was deliberately not neutral, although it was still objective. Through a comparison of the two schools of thought of the leading exponents of Geopolitik and Italian geopolitics, Ernesto Massi and Karl Haushofer, it is possible to highlight the autonomous development and coherence of two possible responses through the use of the same interpretive approach. The comparison of the two diverse positions in the geopolitical discipline is finalized to formulate some considerations on the relationship between science and politics during the inter-war period with the goal of proving that geopolitics is a science that, though not politically neutral, remains objective, thereby revealing the limits of positivism. The teachings of classical geopolitics force us to consider the possibility of combining the objectivity of science with political involvement.