La forza trasformativa dell’impolitico. L’istituzionalismo di Maurice Hauriou e Santi Romano

This article conjures the notion of “the impolitical” to address legal institutionalism as a theory of organization which locates normative power within social collectives (whether micro or macro). In particular, it makes the case that Maurice Hauriou and Santi Romano, the founding fathers of classic legal institutionalism, elaborated on a counter-theory of social order that radically challenges the fundamental tenets of modern political thought. The article illustrates the reasons why they believed modern politics was eventually unable to secure the life of the state and advocated a renewed role of the legal practice within a revised constitutional framework. The conclusion brings out the topical theoretical and political import of their conceptions of law vis-à-vis politics.