The think tank Kritical Reason launches with this publication of theoretical and historical texts, a critical intervention in the academic and historical debate. In particular, it emphasises on:

1. Research in political science and political history

2. Theoretical elaboration of texts, thinkers and historical essays, which have been the subject of theoretical analysis and are still considered 'taboo' or 'high-risk' projects, and

3. Primary publication of sources, documents and archives.

The first collective volume of Kritical Reason focuses primarily on the political theory of social movements in Germany in the 1960s, while also places particular emphasis on the political history of the Soviet Union during the period 1937-1938 and the history of France during the period of the Paris Commune. Furthermore, readers can study four texts - unpublished in Greece until now – written by Hans-Jürgen Krahl, one of the most radical thinkers of critical theory in the post-war period, with particularly intense involvement in the student mobilisations in the late 1960s in the Federal Republic of Germany. Krahl draws on classics issues of radical political theory, such as the analysis of the structural elements of the state and the possibility of establishing emancipatory politics. These texts have been translated by Thanasis Giouras. The text by Dimitris Karydas frames Krahl's texts, highlighting their current relevance and temporal value.

The present volume inaugurates the practice of foreign-language academic publications in Greece.

The article, “Guilty by Suspicion: The Fate of the Greek Communists in the USSR during the "Great Terror”: 1936-1939”, by Nikos Papadatos, is based exclusively on primary sources from the state archives of the Russian Federation and is published in English. Τhe overall problematic of political repression in the ex-USSR has been put on a new footing by this study, which highlights the methodological premises of microhistory.

Xenia Marinou's text includes letters from the famous French militant Louise Michel to Panagiotis Argyriadis, derived from French historical archives, and framed with extensive factual and historical analysis.

The present volume also presents the short study by Thanasis Giouras' “Scientific knowledge, youth and politics. Aspects of confrontations in the interwar era”. This study takes as its starting point the resonance of Max Weber's famous 1919 speech, “Science as a profession”, in Germany.

Finally, Thanasis Giouras’ book review focuses on the recent historical studies of fiscal policies of the Greek state in the 19th century, by S. Boziki and A. Syrmaloglou.

This edition also presents D. Maretta's book review of Albert O. Hirschman's book, The Rhetoric of Reaction Perversity, Futility, Jeopardy.

The volume is complemented by Freddy Steinhauer’s book review essay entitled Towards a social history of political ideas.