Writings on War

Carl Schmitt (1888 - 1985) is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important and influential political theorists of the twentieth century.

"Altogether a most useful addition to the body of Schmitt’s works."Survival An advanced piece of historical scholarship which continues to impact the often nuanced political and legal relationship between states and between states and individuals. Despite the author’s obvious intransient opinion about the Geneva League of Nations and Western liberal democratic values, this book offers sound criticisms of the international legal order of the times and is thus a pillar of knowledge for students and scholars of international law and relations."Central European Journal of International and Security Studies "Warning as it does against the pitfalls of arrogant erudition, the politicization of religion and the flight into elitist mysticism, this book contains lessons for the followers of all creeds."Muslim World "The translation of Carl Schmitt's Writings on War is a remarkable achievement. Timothy Nunan has introduced, translated and annotated the text with considerable skill and aplomb. Nunan's excellent introduction makes clear the painfully compelling relevance of these essays on sovereignty, enmity and empire for contemporary audiences--relevance that is not likely to diminish over the course of time."John McCormick, University of Chicago "Carl Schmitt's direct assault on liberal views of international law and politics generated massive controversy when they first appeared in German. Now available in an accessible translation, Anglophone readers finally get a chance to understand what the fuss was all about. Zeroing in on the Achilles' heel of liberal international law, Schmitt ultimately threw the baby out with the bath water by transforming his occasionally astute observations into a full-fledged attack. Despite his flawed normative and political aspirations, Schmitt's views provide a provocative challenge those of us committed to strengthening international law and global governance simply have to take up."William E. Scheuerman, Indiana University

• Acknowledgments viiiTranslator’s Introduction 1Note on the Translation 27The Turn to the Discriminating Concept of War (1937) 30The Großraum Order of International Law with a Ban on Intervention for Spatially Foreign Powers: A Contribution to the Concept of Reich in International Law (1939–1941) 75The International Crime of the War of Aggression and the Principle "ullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege" 1945) 125Further Reading 198Notes 201Index 232