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1 Mably Et L'ordre International À La Fin Du Xviiie Siècle1 Les Révolutionnaires Américains, Puis Les Partisans De La Cons

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1 Mably Et L'ordre International À La Fin Du Xviiie Siècle1 Les Révolutionnaires Américains, Puis Les Partisans De La Cons Mably et l’ordre international à la fin du XVIIIe siècle1 Les révolutionnaires américains, puis les partisans de la construction d’un gouvernement fédéral dans la crise des années 1783-1787, se référaient à un certain nombre d’auteurs canoniques dans leur appréciation de l’ordre international de leur époque. Ces philosophes, juristes, "publicistes" des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècle étaient lus, connus, cités, utilisés par les auteurs de Federalist Papers et par leurs adversaires anti-fédéralistes. Parmi ces théoriciens de ce que l’on appelle alors le "droit des gens" (le terme de droit international est inventé en 1789 par Jeremy Bentham, mais ne devient d’un usage courant que dans la deuxième moitié du XIXe siècle), on peut citer les fondateurs de l’école du droit naturel le Hollandais Grotius, l’Allemand Samuel Pufendorf, le Neuchâtelois Emer de Vattel auteur du Droit des gens en 1758, le Genevois Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui et le philosophe français Gabriel Bonnot de Mably. Mably est né à Grenoble le 14 mars 1709 dans une famille de noblesse de robe. Gabriel est le deuxième frère de la famille Bonnot, son frère cadet est le philosophe Étienne de Condillac. Mably suit des études chez les Jésuites de Lyon, puis au séminaire de Saint-Sulpice. Protégé par Mme de Tencin, il est reçu dans son célèbre salon parisien où il peut rencontrer Montesquieu, Bolingbroke, Fontenelle, l’abbé de Saint-Pierre, et bien d’autres représentants de la première génération des Lumières. En 1742, Mably est engagé comme secrétaire du cardinal de Tencin (frère de la précédente), nouvellement ministre des Affaires étrangères dans le gouvernement de Fleury. C’est à cette occasion que Mably acquiert une expérience diplomatique déterminante sur l’évolution de sa pensée. Cette expérience est à l’origine de la première version du Droit Public de l’Europe, publié en 1746 à La Haye, puis en France deux années plus tard. En 1747, Mably rompt avec le cardinal de Tencin et abandonne une carrière qui semblait prometteuse. Il se consacre désormais à l’écriture et à l’étude de la politique. À sa mort le 23 avril 1785, il a publié une quinzaine d’œuvres. Ses Œuvres complètes publiées en 1794 comprennent quinze volumes dont de nombreux inédits. Son œuvre peut être divisée en trois grandes catégories. Tout d’abord, l’histoire philosophique. Puis, les dialogues philosophiques, et enfin, les œuvres plus spécifiques comme Le Droit public de l’Europe (1746, révisé en 1748 et 1764), ouvrage auquel il adjoint en 1757 les Principes des négociations ou les Observations sur le gouvernement et les lois des États-Unis d’Amérique (1784). La "politique" comme science morale2 La première édition du Droit public de l’Europe paraît à La Haye en 1746, une deuxième édition sort en France deux ans plus tard. Cette première version est encore peu différente des recueils de traités publiés jusqu’alors. La structure de l’ouvrage est chronologique et l’essentiel du texte est constitué d’une analyse succincte des principaux articles des traités européens depuis la 1 Ce texte est tiré de l'introduction à mon édition des Principes des négociations de Mably, parue aux éditions Kimé en 2001. 2 Au XVIIIe siècle, le terme de "politique" possède un sens restreint qui signifie les relations entre les États. 1 paix de Westphalie. Dans les éditions ultérieures, Mably étoffe considérablement la partie "commentaire" de l’ouvrage. On distingue quatre niveaux de discours dans le texte de 17643. Les résumés des articles de traités forment le premier niveau et occupent à peu près les deux tiers du texte. Le deuxième niveau est constitué par les commentaires directs sur les articles : Mably éclaircit ce qui est obscur et apporte des précisions sur les pratiques diplomatiques. Le troisième niveau est une analyse historique et philosophique, c’est cette partie qui a été le plus développée dans les éditions successives. Enfin, le quatrième niveau fait le lien entre les pratiques diplomatiques et les principes ; ce discours n’existe dans l’édition de 1746 que sous une forme embryonnaire, il est largement développé dans celle de 1764. Cette évolution du texte montre que le projet de Mably s’est progressivement modifié. Sa courte mais précieuse expérience diplomatique lui a donné la matière pour concevoir le premier état du Droit public de l’Europe, mais ce n’est que progressivement qu’il en tire des réflexions philosophiques sur l’ordre européen. Ce travail d’élaboration trouve son aboutissement conceptuel dans Les Principes des négociations ajouté en 1757 pour former la préface du gros de l’ouvrage. L’itinéraire de Mably — du fait diplomatique à la réflexion philosophique — donne son sens au projet. Il s’agit de concevoir une science morale des négociations et non de présenter les règles en usage dans les cours européennes ou de définir les règles d’un art de négocier. L’ouvrage de Mably se démarque donc de la littérature diplomatique de son temps. Sa méthode est plus historique et philosophique qu’analytique. Le projet de Mably est de fonder une science de la "politique". Sa démarche est proche de celle de Montesquieu dans L’Esprit des Lois : il s’agit de montrer qu’au-delà des événements et de l’action des passions des hommes d’État, il existe des éléments objectifs qui déterminent les relations entre les souverains et entre les peuples, il s’agit également de chercher les règles morales du développement des États et de montrer qu’à chacun d’eux correspondent des "systèmes politiques" déterminés par des facteurs géopolitiques, institutionnels et culturels. Cette science des négociations ne peut être que fondée sur la morale. Mably rejette la conception dualiste de la Raison d’État qui sépare la politique de ses fondements éthiques. Pourtant, la méthode de Mably ne consiste pas à énoncer les "lieux communs de la morale" et à déclamer contre le machiavélisme des hommes d’État. Il entend au contraire démontrer que les principes de la justice sont compatibles avec ceux de la prudence que requiert la "politique". Il s’agit à la fois de démystifier les machiavélistes qui affirment que la morale est antithétique à la conduite des relations extérieures et de convaincre de l’efficacité de la justice et de la bonne foi sur le terrain même des passions. Un troisième élément entre en ligne de compte : le "moment" des négociations. La science morale défendue par Mably ne méconnaît pas l’importance de la dynamique des événements. S’il existe des lois objectives déterminant les relations entre les souverains, l’intuition des circonstances est elle aussi un facteur de la décision politique : une négociation engagée selon les principes de la 3 C. Ramsay, "L’Europe, atelier de Mably : deux états du Droit public de l’Europe, 1746-1764" dans La politique comme science morale, colloque Mably à Vizille, juin 1991, F. Gauthier, F. Mazzanti Pepe (dir.), 2 vols., Palomar, Bari 1995, 1997. 2 justice et de la "prudence" n’est pas pour autant garantie contre l’échec. À la dialectique des principes et des passions se superpose celle des principes et des circonstances. Une critique de l’ordre européen d’Ancien Régime C’est à partir d’une théorisation du développement historique de l’Europe moderne que Mably tente d’établir les principes des "systèmes politiques" des États. Dans les premiers chapitres des Principes des négociations, il analyse les traits principaux de la transition du Moyen Âge à la Renaissance. Tout d’abord, les États modernes se constituent. L’autre facteur déterminant est la découverte de l’Amérique et son pillage par les colonisateurs. L’accumulation de richesses tirées du Nouveau monde bouleverse de fond en comble les rapports de force : les États engagés dans la conquête coloniale distancent tous les autres et, comme le dit Mably, l’argent devient "le nerf de la guerre et de la politique". L’afflux des métaux précieux provoque une différenciation sociale et le passage à une civilisation commerciale qui modifient radicalement l’ordre européen. Ces deux "révolutions" sont accompagnées par l’augmentation de la taille des armées et le coût croissant de leur entretien avec pour conséquences la nécessité de la construction de l’État fisco-militaire absolutiste et la domestication de la noblesse par le souverain. Ces "révolutions" initient une période de transition décrite par Mably comme une situation chaotique pendant laquelle les puissances tentent de s’adapter à cette nouvelle donne. Le fait dominant de cette période de transition est la lutte entre les Valois et les Habsbourg en Italie, premier conflit d’envergure de l’époque moderne. La deuxième phase de construction d’un ordre européen est la guerre de Trente Ans dans laquelle on assiste à une intégration du nord de l’Europe dans le "système politique" continental. Le grand vainqueur de cette deuxième phase est la France qui parvient à supplanter l’Espagne. Les traités de Westphalie de 1648 consacrent l’abaissement espagnol, la nouvelle puissance de la France et de sa nouvelle rivale, l’Autriche, mais aussi l’existence d’un nouveau droit public qui codifie et stabilise l’ordre des puissances. Cet ordre est de nouveau modifié par les guerres de Louis XIV qui aboutissent en 1713 à la paix d’Utrecht, confirmant la montée de l’Angleterre et sa nouvelle position de puissance rivale de la France. Le tableau de l’évolution historique de l’Europe, dressé par Mably, est celui d’une lutte incessante pour l’hégémonie. Les puissances sont entraînées dans une série de conflits causés par une convoitise aveugle et une méconnaissance profonde des lois du développement des États. Les tentatives successives de "monarchie universelle" (celle de Charles Quint, puis de Louis XIV) et leur échec inévitable sont la manifestation d’un ordre européen prédateur et guerrier.
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