Political Theology and Sovereignty Today
摘要
This chapter is more than just a summary or a conclusion; it considers Schmitt’s concept of sovereignty and his notion of “political theology. This concluding chapter has three parts. The first concerns the continual interest in the nature and function of political theology and it focuses on a number of recent books which either are devoted to the topic or are reflections on Schmitt’s book. The second part focuses on the notion of sovereignty, not as a general concept, but as a reflection of Schmitt’s concept as set out in Politische Theologie. Here, the concern is with a few books but also with articles and chapters. Taken together, these two parts provide an indication of Carl Schmitt’s lasting influence on legal philosophy and political thinking. The third part is devoted to allowing Schmitt to have the final word. This is found in his Politische Theologie II. Published almost more than a half century after Politische Theologie, Politische Theologie II provides an intriguing look at how Schmitt’s understanding of the connection between law, politics, and theology had changed and what he thought might be some of the lasting ideas from his conception of “political theology.”