Bonacina, Giovanni: Tradizione e Restaurazione. Haller, Eckstein, Giuliano, Stahl, Bauer (= Temi e Testi 198). Roma: Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura 2020, XXIV/376 S., ISBN 978-88-9359-482-0; eISBN 978-88-9359-483-7

The review discusses Giovanni Bonacina’s Tradizione e Restaurazione. Haller, Eckstein, Giuliano, Stahl, Bauer (Rome, Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 2020), a work that explores the ideological and philosophical foundations of nineteenth-century conservatism in the context of post-revolutionary Europe. Bonacina’s study, structured around five detailed chapters, examines key figures such as Carl Ludwig von Haller, Ferdinand von Eckstein, Emperor Julian, Friedrich Julius Stahl, and Bruno Bauer, all representative of distinct responses to the intellectual and political challenges of modernity. The reviewer highlights the author’s refusal to provide a universal definition of conservatism, opting instead for a nuanced historical-philosophical approach that situates each thinker within his specific intellectual milieu. Bonacina’s work is praised for its scholarly depth, conceptual precision, and contribution to understanding conservatism as a historically grounded and evolving phenomenon—an indispensable resource for contemporary reflections on the conservative tradition.