Becoming the Prince's Counsellor: Alexandre Kojève's Vichy-Period Manuscripts

During the short lifespan of the Vichy regime, Alexandre Kojève produced a set of philosophical policy documents at the behest of Henri Moysset. In 2020, The Notion of Work and Notice on the Political Neoformations of the Twentieth Century were unearthed from the French National Archives, shedding new light on his intriguing correspondence with Moysset. The purpose of this article is to discuss the content of these manuscripts, which, at least in the mind of their author, combine political counsel with doing philosophy. Kojève’s sudden transition from academic philosophy to civil service has long been a contentious subject and a puzzle to his biographers. The Notion of Work and Neoformations may help us establish Kojève as a thinker who remained true to his philosophical system and show the extent to which the political advice he produced was influenced by his philosophy.