Depoliticization and State Authority

Abstract

Abstract This chapter analyses the legitimacy of the state’s defence of its constitutional identity against internal challenges such as politicization, enemies, and legal revolution, using Carl Schmitt’s state and constitutional theory. Building on Thomas Hobbes’ state theory, Schmitt argues that the state possesses the right to defend its political identity through methods of constitutional entrenchment. Although formulated before the term ‘militant democracy’ emerged, Schmitt’s theory anticipated its principal mechanisms, including the unamendability of constitutional essentials and political rights restrictions. The chapter concludes by highlighting that while Schmitt’s thought provides the militant dimension of a liberal normative theory of militant democracy, it fails to provide any significant democratic aspects. Therefore, to fully realize a liberal normative theory of militant democracy, Schmitt’s formal arguments must be supplemented with substantive democracy theory.