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Journal of the Polish Section of IVR (ISSN:2082-3304)

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State of Emergency and State without a Name in Carl Schmitt’s Thought. Suggestion of a Separation

Mgr Wojciech Engelking

University of Warsaw

Abstract: The concept of a state of emergency is one of the most frequently cited elements of the thought of the German philosopher of the law and political theorist Carl Schmitt. In its discussions, however, the conceptualization of the state of emergency, which Schmitt proposed in 1924 in his juridical comments on Article 48 of the Weimar Republic’s constitution, is often linked with the theory of Ausnahmezustand from Political Theology (1922). Such a juxtaposition is a mistake, because Schmitt was not a consistent thinker and his texts can be mutually contradictory. I propose, therefore, to separate the state of emergency from Ausnahmezustand – translated from German literally as a state without a name. The main difference between them consists in the different types of legitimacy. The state of emergency from the Constitution of the Weimar Republic finds its legitimacy in this document from 1919, however, read by Schmitt in a way that in his Constitutional Theory (1928) he referred to as relativization of the constitution. For the state without a name, as not being included in the legal order and the equivalent of a miracle in theology, such legitimacy is impossible. In order to find it, one must refer to other Schmitt’s works than the strictly judicial ones. I believe that the state without a name may be legally valid – in a word: not a coup d’état – if we acknowledge that Schmitt’s political theology is not just a methodological project that translates theological notions into political and legal ones, but a wider proposal rooted in the faith in Revelation. Therefore, this figure from the work of the German thinker in which the state of emergency finds its legitimacy is taken from St. Paul’s letters; it is the figure of a katechon: the one who comes and stops the world from disintegration. The use of such legitimacy emphasizes the reluctance to accept modernity, which Schmitt did exhibit, and presents him as a thinker who continued the medieval way of thinking, which is completely incompatible with the strictly modern concept of a state of emergency.

Keywords: Carl Schmitt, state of emergency, state without a name, katechon, political theology

Language: Polish

Received: 24.12.2018
Accepted:
14.03.2019

Published: Number 1(19)/2019, pp. 15-26

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36280/AFPiFS.2019.1.15

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Number of downloads: 112

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Carl Schmitt, katechon, political theology, state of emergency, state without a name, Wojciech Engelking

Carl Schmitt Revisited by the United States and the Terrorist

Mgr Karolina Mendecka

English abstract: In the article “Carl Schmitt Revisited by the United States and the Terrorist” it is shown that Carl Schmitt’s morals, standards and views can be noticed in the United States policy in the context of so-called “war on terror”. According to the article, Islamic terrorists are a mirror image of Schmittan revolutionary partisan. It is discussed how terrorists are, as a problem, treated by the USA, which in author’s opinion displays many Schmittan features. Schmitt is one of the few who claim that the sovereign state is above the legal order and can set boundaries. It is therefore shown that the USA seem to have rushed into Schmittan “state of exception”, where norms are suspended in order to achieve security, resembling the thinking of the G.W. Bush administration. It is illustrated how the USA seem to be following Schmitt’s ideology, especially by making exceptions to international rules, but also putting the terrorist outside of the scope of international regulations. Lastly, author tries to answer the question if it is justified to follow Schmitt and obey to the rule of law.

Keywords: Carl Schmitt, war on terror, state of exception

Language: English

Published: Number 1(10)/2015, pp. 69-78

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36280/AFPiFS.2015.1.69

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Number of downloads:
90

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Carl Schmitt, state of exception, war on terror

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rational model pragmatism lustration article 18 of the Constitution self-realization intention collective memories resentment interpretation ontologically creative legal syllogism theory of meaning legal dogmatics legal concepts judicial decision Krzysztof Janas libertarianism legal sociology sovereignty The Separation Thesis CEENJ Filip Rakoczy Arkadiusz Barut statement of reasons for a court judgment interpretation of the Bible Searle philosophy of mind photographs meaning externalism intentionalism post-theology legal advisors cognitive linguistics Japanese criminal law juriscentrism Robert Alexy principle of law political transition conflict management judicial virtues ideology legal truisms teleological ethics limitations of the lawyers’ power normative theories of legal interpretation interpretationism CLC post-truth Michał Pełka duty to serve the public cultural revolution

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