Carl Schmitt's International Thought and the State

Abstract

This paper pieces together how Carl Schmitt’s legal thought shaped his political ideas and, more crucially, how Schmitt strove to bring into accord the prevailing practices of transnational relations with those of international law. Schmitt provides an instructive case to read the histories of international law and political thought in conjuncture. His emphasis is squarely on the theorisations of international law. By focusing on Schmitt’s concept of the political, this paper will further outline Schmitt’s critique of liberalism and international law, and flesh out his planetary counter-proposal of the Grosraum (great space).