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"Applying Carl Schmitt To Global Puzzles: Identity, Conflict And The Friend/Enemy Antithesis,", Emma R. Norman

Emma R. Norman

This paper demonstrates the broad appeal and usefulness of the political and legal thought of Carl Schmitt to scholars of international relations by applying his seminal friend-enemy antithesis to current global problems as well as to current IR theories used to negotiate them. I argue that Schmitt’s contemporary appeal lies, first, in his insistence that collective identity is necessarily formed through conflict (enmity); and second, that identity lies at the very base of what motivates behavior on the international stage (at the sub-national, national and transnational levels). By implication, Schmitt’s theories offer some fresh insights into the sources and nature …