The poverty of exceptionalism in international theory

Abstract

This article is about the politics of ‘the exception’ and the role of ‘exceptionalism’ in contemporary international theory. The concept of ‘the exception’ was coined by Carl Schmitt and has in recent years become an inspiration for international relations theorists and foreign policy analysts, especially when engaging with issues such as great power politics, humanitarian intervention and the war against terrorism. It is concluded that attempts to apply Schmitt’s concept of ‘the exception’ seldom are persuasive and sometimes even contradictory to Schmitt’s theory. When dealt with out of context, ‘the exception’ becomes just an expression about something else. It is shown that there are other ways of handling the kind of political problem observed by Schmitt than what he and his followers are offering.

Iran–USA Relations: From Exceptionalism to Containment Policy

“…The root of exceptionalism as a theoretical lens can be traced back to Carl Schmitt's notion of 'the exception'. Basing his argument on Bodin's concept of sovereignty, Schmitt argues that 'the exception' is equally an essential element of sovereignty as much as the manifestation of sovereignty (Hjorth, 2014). Drawing from Schmitt's (1988) 'the exception', exceptionalism as a theory is predicated on three theoretical lenses, namely, political theology of sovereignty, decisionism and ideational.…”

“…Such exception, Schmitt argues, leads to the idea of decisionism-'the exception in jurisprudence is analogous to the miracle in theology' (Schmitt, 1988, p. 36). Schmitt premised his theorisation on Jean Bodin's concept of sovereignty and the 'right for the sovereign to violate rules in order to deal with extraordinary situations' (Hjorth, 2014). The unlimited power and aptitude to act, Schmitt argues, 'means the suspension of the entire existing order.…”

“…Because the exception is different from anarchy and chaos, order in the juristic sense prevails even if it is not of the ordinary kind' (Schmitt, 1988, p. 12). Lastly, it is ideational, because '"the exception" requires a norm, because, without a norm, there would be no exception to the norm' (Hjorth, 2014). Besides, in Schmitt's rationalisation, '"the exception" has no legal or moral fetters because "the decision frees itself from all normative ties and become in a true sense absolute"' (Schmitt, 1988).…”

Authority after Emergency Rule

“…Especially in a polity that lacks a comprehensive written constitution, the violation of such norms is the defining feature of emergency rule. We may highlight just a few as they are found in the EU context, as a basis on which to proceed with an analysis of the longer‐term implications of their transgression.…”

Exception and governmentality in the critique of sovereignty

“…Despite the currency the concept has gained in critical discourses on sovereignty, a number of scholars have expressed scepticism about its usefulness. They argue that exception is a somewhat clumsy analytical tool that tends to obscure the subtleties and historically specific character of sovereign power (Huysmans, 2004(Huysmans, , 2008Hjorth, 2014). For Rabinow and Rose, for example, biopolitics understood 'as a biopolitics of the state modelled on the figure of the sovereign … suits the absolutisms of the Nazis and Stalin' and thus requires 'a more nuanced account of power, and of sovereign power, to analyze contemporary rationalities and technologies of biopolitics' (Rabinow and Rose, 2006: 202; see also Rose and Miller, 2010).…”