By Mathias Risse
The views expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy or Harvard Kennedy School. These perspectives have been presented to encourage debate on important public policy challenges.
Forty years after his death, Carl Schmitt maintains an uneasy presence. Many consider his views odious because he supported National Socialism. Still, his perspectives on both domestic and international politics are the kind of view against which liberalism must be defended. Right now this means liberalism must be defended against an unexpected proponent of Schmitt’s views, the 47th President of the United States of America.
As far as international issues are concerned, current politics seems to vindicate Schmitt. He believed that “he who says humani