Schmitt was a member of the Nazi party, and his work, while intellectually influential, is closely tied to his support of authoritarianism.
The book famously opens with the line: "Sovereign is he who decides on the exception". Schmitt argues that the true sovereign is not the one who makes laws during normal times, but the one who decides when a state of emergency exists and how to handle it.
Carl Schmitt, Political Theology: Four Chapters ... - PhilPapers Political Theology: Four Chapters on the Concep...
Examines decisionism in the thought of figures like Donoso Cortés . Significance and Context
Establishes the link between sovereignty and the exception. Schmitt was a member of the Nazi party,
Explores how different thinkers have addressed the legal nature of the state.
Political Theology: Four Chapters on the Concept of Sovereignty is a foundational, yet highly controversial, work of legal and political theory written by German jurist Carl Schmitt in 1922. It was published in English by the University of Chicago Press in 1985, translated and edited by George Schwab. Core Arguments and Key Concepts Carl Schmitt, Political Theology: Four Chapters
Schmitt argues that modern political concepts are actually secularized theological concepts. For instance, the absolute sovereign takes the place of the omnipotent God in the creation of order.