Jésus Casquete

Jésus Casquete is Professor of History of Political Theory at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). His academic credentials include a MA in Political Science (New School for Social Research, New York), a PhD in Sociology (UPV/EHU) and a PhD in History (Technische Universität Berlin). Recipient of scholarships from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation on several ocassions.

The project

Title: On the usefulness of the classics of political theory to understand the current democratic regression. Plato as example

"Are classical authors of political thought useful for understanding our present political reality? All too often and hastily, thinkers from the canon of Western political philosophy are dismissed as relics of the past, reserved for scholarly enjoyment but with little practical utility after having reflected on politics in times and contexts different from our own.
In this article, I address this question by undertaking a dual delineation. On one hand, I turn to the first significant philosopher of Western civilization with a written body of work: Plato. The focus is on his critique of democracy. On the other hand, I outline the challenge posed by contemporary populism —particularly its right-wing variant (national populism) —to liberal democracy. From the intersection of these two vectors emerges the potential of engaging with classical political philosophers to better understand politics today."

Hosting institution: École Normale Supérieure

Selective Bibliography

• “El nacionalpopulismo y la democracia inmediata”, Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas 196 (Oct-Dic, 2026) (in print).
• The Nazis are here. The lie is here’ Adolf Hitler and the Case of the Death of SA Man Georg Hirschmann”, in: Martin Göllnitz and Yves Müller (eds.), Die SA in der Region, Halle, Landesmat für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt, 2025.
• “Outils pour interpréter le martyre politique dans les dictatures fascistes et fascisantes (xxe siècle)” (with Zira Box), in: Pierre-Marie Delphu (dir.), Le martyre politique en Europe du Sud (xixe-xxe siècle), Madrid, Casa Velázquez, 2025: 63-75. 
• “Vox y la democracia liberal: una genealogía intelectual de la crítica nacionalpopulista a los partidos políticos”, Revista Española de Ciencia Política, 63 (Nov 2023): 13-37.
• “La historia como campo de batalla cultural” (with Zira Box), in: Steven Forti (ed.), Mitos y cuentos de la extrema derecha, Madrid, La Catarata, 2023.
• “Para comprender la extrema derecha”, Revista de Estudios Políticos 200 (Abril/Junio 2023): 285-291.