The Ethiopian Campaign and French Political Thought

Notes

111 No t e s Introduction 1. In 1894 Alfred Dreyfus, a French Army captain who also happened to be Jewish, was convicted of spying for Germany, for treason, and sentenced to Devil’s Island prison. When Émile Zola espoused the cause of Dreyfus in his famous open letter “J’accuse” published in Clemenceau’s newspaper l’Aurore (13 January 1898), evidence then came to light that he was innocent. The true traitor was a certain Major Charles Ferdinand Walsin-Esterhazy. France split into two passionate factions for and against Dreyfus. The affair also profoundly reflected anti-Semitic and pro-Jewish elements in French society. For a brilliant treatment of this French crisis see Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism (New York: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1951), chap. 4 “The Dreyfus Affair,” 89–120. [Rev. note] 2. Yves R. Simon, Introduction à l’ontologie du connaître (Paris: Desclée de Brouwer, 1934; reprint, Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown, 1965), English trans., An Introduction to Metaphysics of Knowledge 112 | Notes to Pages 5–11 (New York: Fordham University Press, 1990); Critique de la connaissance morale (Paris: Desclée de Brouwer, 1934), English trans., A Critique of Moral Knowledge (New York: Fordham University Press, 2002); Trois leçons sur la travail (Paris: Pierre Téqui, 1938); and scores of articles. [Ed. note] Chapter one From before the War to the Stresa Conference 1. Italy, Germany, and Austria-Hungary formed the Triple Alliance in 1882. The Italians signed the treaty with the other two nations in part because it was displeased by French opposition to Italian efforts at colonization. [Ed. note] 2. Alsace-Lorraine, a traditional French territory situated on the Eastern border with Germany, was often a pawn in struggles between the two nations. In 1871 a newly united Germany defeated France in the Franco-Prussian War and annexed the territory; some French sympathized with Italy because they saw parallels in its own territorial claims. In 1919 the territory reverted back to France. [Ed. note] 3. Caporetto is a stretch of land on Italy’s borders. Austrian and German forces took its weak defense forces by surprise, forced a retreat, and captured the region on the date indicated. [Ed. note] 4. The Treaty of London was secretly signed on 26 April 1915 by France, Russia, Great Britain, and Italy. It determined wartime activity support between the Allies, and the allocation of disputed lands. [Ed. note] 5. Ernest Lémonon, La Politique coloniale de l’Italie (Paris: Felix Alcan, 1919), 74. 6. Ernest Lémonon, L’Italie d’apres-guerre (Paris: Felix Alcan, 1922), 91. 7. In Stresa, Italy, Great Britain, France, and Italy pledge to sustain a united front against German rearmament, which would violate the Treaty of Versailles. [Ed. note] Notes to Pages 14–31 | 113 Chapter two What Do We Care about Ethiopia? 1. Manifesto of French Intellectuals for the Defense of the West (Manifeste des intellectuels français pour la défense de l‘Occident et la paix en Europe). See appendix 2. [Ed. note] 2. It is clear that the patriotism of covetousness is often legitimate . What I want to observe here is that it represents an inferior kind of patriotism, one that threatens international order once it becomes preponderant. Chapter four But Is This War Just? 1. We emphasize the exceptional nature of such limited situations , which ought in addition to be verified by some authority or a judge. 2. Manifesto of French Intellectuals for the Defense of the West. See appendix 2. [Ed. note] Chapter five Ethiopia’s Foreign Relations 1. Note here that our perspective is not that of a historian. We want to examine some judgments, not to tell a story; but we cannot abstract from the history that constitutes the subject, or the occasion, for these judgments. In the historical configurations that we must examine, we will consider primarily or exclusively the formal aspects under which events present themselves directly to the judgment of political philosophy. 2. Negus is the Amharic word for king or ruler. Johannes IV was emperor of Ethiopia from 1872 until his death in 1889. [Ed. note] 114 | Notes to Pages 32–60 3. Italo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1928, also known as the ItaloEthiopian Treaty of Friendship. [Ed. note] Chapter six The Mad Dog 1. Italo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1928. [Ed. note] Chapter seven Ethiopia’s Internal Situation 1. French General Pierre Étienne Cambronne commanded the Imperial Guard at...