Moral und Politik

Whether morals and politics are at odds with each other or not is controversially discussed in political philosophy and related sciences. Whereas Immanuel Kant maintains that there should always be harmony between the two it is Max Weber’s “Ethics of Responsibility” which eventually recommends to politicians the use of “ethically dangerous means”. In that context, the article discusses the question whether the dominance of abstract moral principles in politics may lead to the actor’s self-deception and also to a misjudgement in respect of partners’ and adversaries’ opinions and intentions, referring to insights won by G. W. F. Hegel, Hannah Arendt and Carl Schmitt. The results of this discussion are scrutinised in confrontation with a study on Russia’s behaviour towards its “near abroad” (Gerard Toal) and also on the reaction of western politics to that very behaviour either.