Schmitt on Constituent Power and the Monarchical Principle

In this essay, my aim is to examine Schmitt's account of the monarchical principle, without which his treatment of sovereignty and constituent power cannot be fully understood. In the first section of this essay, I study the definition of sovereignty elaborated by Schmitt in his Political Theol...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Constellations (Oxford, England) England), 2011-09, Vol.18 (3), p.352-364
Main Author: Cristi, Renato
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Conservatism
Constituents
Constitutional law
Definitions
Democracy
French Revolution
Power
Royalty
Sovereignty
Theology
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Summary:In this essay, my aim is to examine Schmitt's account of the monarchical principle, without which his treatment of sovereignty and constituent power cannot be fully understood. In the first section of this essay, I study the definition of sovereignty elaborated by Schmitt in his Political Theology. What is notable here is his conception of the sovereign as the political agent who decides on the exception, his critique of Kelsenian normativism, and also his proximity to the revolutionary conservatism of Maistre and Donoso Cortes. The second section shows how this conservative posture was superseded in his Constitutional Theory by a more moderate conception that combined conservative and liberal elements. Adapted from the source document.
ISSN:1351-0487
1467-8675
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-8675.2011.00642.x