Political theology
Subtitle: four chapters on the concept of sovereignty
By: Carl Schmitt ; translated by George Schwab.
Series: Studies in contemporary German social thought
Publisher: MIT Press
Published: 1985
Place of publication: Cambridge, Mass
Language: eng; ger
Number of pages: 70
Subjects: Sovereignty.; Political theology.
Description: Written in the intense political and intellectual tumult of the early years of the Weimar Republic, Political Theology develops the distinctive theory of sovereignty that made Carl Schmitt one of the most significant and controversial political theorists of the twentieth century.    Focusing on the relationships among political leadership, the norms of the legal order, and the state of political emergency, Schmitt argues in Political Theology that legal order ultimately rests upon the decisions of the sovereign. According to Schmitt, only the sovereign can meet the needs of an "exceptional" time and transcend legal order so that order can then be reestablished. Convinced that the state is governed by the ever-present possibility of conflict, Schmitt theorizes that the state exists only to maintain its integrity in order to ensure order and stability. Suggesting that all concepts of modern political thought are secularized theological concepts, Schmitt concludes Political Theology with a critique of liberalism and its attempt to depoliticize political thought by avoiding fundamental political decisions.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Translation of: Politische Theologie.