Carl Schmitt and International Political Theory: Revisiting a Complex Encounter
2017/10
Abstract
Direct interest in Carl Schmitt's work is recovering within International Political Theory, after a period of relative disengagement. However, the way in which Schmittian scholarship and IPT are interfaced continues to suffer from old issues, which limit the potential of the exchange. This article traces of the way Schmitt has entered IPT literature, offering an assessment of the encounter as well as a reflection on why and how a recovery of Schmitt may be desirable. Such recovery appears to be conditioned upon a more upfront contextualisation of his work, and a more coura-geous engagement with the idea of political theology as a sociological category. Finally, the article identifies a number of areas where Schmitt's role, which is to a cer-tain extent already present, can be further expanded.