Constitutional Knowledge, Learned Political Theory & the 2nd National Assembly in the Greek War of Independence

The paper examines the presence and role of ideas concerning constitutional law and of early attempts in learned political theory in the times of the Greek War of Independence (1821-1832). The case is of particular interest for both historians of political thought and scholars interested in the study of parliaments and the contested status of ‘political science’, since it provides a convenient chance for using the former approach as a test for the expansion of the latter further back in historical time than that of its current state of the art. More specifically, the paper argues that the knowledge of Western European and American constitutional law imported to the War’s Assemblies, especially characterizing the 2nd National Assembly and its Constitution, proved to have been of paramount importance for the establishment of both a gradual constitutional precedent and an ongoing political agenda that included many attempts to argue by adapting learned political authorities of the West, allowing us thus to consider this entire set as a very effective ‘political science’ for the examined standards of time and place. The main part of the paper is divided as follows: A. Contexts and Method. An outline of the War’s chronological framing and main contexts under consideration and of the method in use. B. Channels of Western Political Knowledge Entering the War. C. Constitutional Knowledge and the 2nd National Assembly. D. Political Theory and Constitutional Knowledge later in the War. E. Conclusions. An overall assessment of the role of political theory and constitutional knowledge throughout the War and of their importance for Greece’s subsequent constitutional and political culture.