Carl Schmitt
A German jurist and political theorist known for his controversial work on sovereignty, the concept of the political (friend-enemy distinction), and the state of exception.
Quotes by Carl Schmitt
The exception is that which cannot be subsumed; it defies general codification.
Politics is about the real possibility of physical killing.
The universalism of liberalism leads to the depoliticization of the world.
Parliamentarism is the betrayal of democracy.
The concrete is stronger than the abstract.
The partisan wages war against the state, not within it.
Order is the first law of heaven.
The earth is the ultimate measure of all things political.
Sovereignty means deciding in the final instance.
The political decision is autonomous from normative considerations.
In the beginning, there is the decision.
The enemy is existentially different and menaced.
Law without the state is powerless; the state without law is tyrannical.
The concept of the state is secularized providence.
True enmity is rare; it requires intensity.
The nomos is the unity of order and orientation.
Politics stands and falls with the friend-enemy relation.
The exception reveals the true nature of sovereignty.