Carl Schmitt's Political Theory of Representation

Abstract

This paper suggests that by illustrating the importance of the concept of representation to his thought, the better known theories of the state and the constitution to be found in Schmitt's work are more easily comprehensible. Furthermore, the paper argues that Schmitt's thoughts on these subjects develop from an early and "personalist" account of representation, towards a more mainstream constitutional theory, through an interpretation of the writings of the Abbé Sieyes in particular.

Sovereign Debt

“…It can be said that, inasmuch as the governed community is in debt to the sovereign, the sovereign is in debt to the community for relegating it to its place of power (Bourdieu ). Modern, representative democracies reveal this more clearly than ancient, despotic monarchies, of course, since the people ostensibly deputize their leaders (Pitkin ; Kelly ). The political process of election and delegation publicly ritualizes the transmission of debt and obligation.…”

Visible Others': A Reading of the European Obsession with the Female Veil

“…By stressing the principle of secularism, the Court not only limited Sahin's individual rights of freedom of religion, but it also "assumed the religious task of describing which Islamic duties are suitable to be performed at secular universities; practicing Muslim students in Turkish universities are free 'to manifest their religion in accordance with habitual forms of Muslim observance' (para 118 and 159)" [38] (p. 273). 7 Thus, if it is the sovereign power that decides exceptions and defines symbols, then "all modern concepts of the state are secularized theological concepts" [39] (p. 128) as the state assumes the teleological, transcendent and absolute power of defining images and metaphors in the public sphere: this is mirrored not only in past regulations over women's attire, but also, more importantly, in the recent ECHR legal decisions over the practice of veiling. In this sense, "[the] secular state today abides … by the cuius regio eius religio principle (the religion of the ruler is the religion of his subjects), even though it disclaims any religious allegiance and governs a largely irreligious society…[in fact] it is not the commitment to…a particular religion that is most 5 The Stasi Commission was set up by the French Government in order to investigate the application of the principle of laicite in France.…”

Jurisprudences of jurisdiction: matters of public authority

“…In Much of the effectiveness of Schmitt's argument turns on his sense that the unity of the state is a matter both of authority (auctoritas) and power (potestas). Schmitt also ties this concern to that of the representation of authority, or rather to the need of the sovereign to present authority (Kelly 2004). While the pluralists drew attention to the institutions of the state and the conditions of the formation of associations, they did so by turning relations of law into social relations.…”