La guerre civile (mondiale ?) et le dialogue Schmitt-Benjamin

In his criticism of Weimar liberal democracy, Carl Schmitt mainly shows his opposition to pluralism. The State sovereignty that he wants to maintain takes on the form of intensified presidentialism and he thus intends to save the substance of the German Constitution against Weimar Constitution. Walt...

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Main Author: Ninon Grangé
Format: Article
Language:fra
Published: École Normale Supérieure de Lyon 2015-06-01
Series:Astérion
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/asterion/2628
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author Ninon Grangé
author_facet Ninon Grangé
author_sort Ninon Grangé
collection DOAJ
description In his criticism of Weimar liberal democracy, Carl Schmitt mainly shows his opposition to pluralism. The State sovereignty that he wants to maintain takes on the form of intensified presidentialism and he thus intends to save the substance of the German Constitution against Weimar Constitution. Walter Benjamin, although he does not stand on the same level and criticizes the after-war world even before contemplating a democratic essence, agrees with Schmitt on the notion of sovereignty. While everything leads them apart from each other and in spite of the explicit tribute paid by Benjamin to Political Theology, Schmitt’s more discreet homage to Benjamin, the feeling that they do not argue according to the same definition of sovereignty must at least be considered as a hypothesis likely to become contradicted. What are they really agreed on ? Diagnosing the conflict and acknowledging an epoch are but a partial and unsatisfactory answer in many respects. Using Giorgio Agamben’s analyses, we will take the fleeting meeting between Schmitt and Benjamin as a starting point to study a concept that plays a pivotal role for both of them : the state of emergency being given concrete expression by civil world war with Schmitt, and by civil war turned into terror with Benjamin. In the interplay of the concepts the meeting point focusing two very different lines of thought is also a divergent point. This will lead us at first to define civil world war as a signature, a semi concept or the illustration of a concept and, subsequently, to redefine what underlies these two conceptions, i.e. political temporality in a time of crisis for democracy.
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spelling doaj-art-9078a4dd34fc4b1ca4077ac2caf1663f2025-08-20T03:47:37ZfraÉcole Normale Supérieure de LyonAstérion1762-61102015-06-011310.4000/asterion.2628La guerre civile (mondiale ?) et le dialogue Schmitt-BenjaminNinon GrangéIn his criticism of Weimar liberal democracy, Carl Schmitt mainly shows his opposition to pluralism. The State sovereignty that he wants to maintain takes on the form of intensified presidentialism and he thus intends to save the substance of the German Constitution against Weimar Constitution. Walter Benjamin, although he does not stand on the same level and criticizes the after-war world even before contemplating a democratic essence, agrees with Schmitt on the notion of sovereignty. While everything leads them apart from each other and in spite of the explicit tribute paid by Benjamin to Political Theology, Schmitt’s more discreet homage to Benjamin, the feeling that they do not argue according to the same definition of sovereignty must at least be considered as a hypothesis likely to become contradicted. What are they really agreed on ? Diagnosing the conflict and acknowledging an epoch are but a partial and unsatisfactory answer in many respects. Using Giorgio Agamben’s analyses, we will take the fleeting meeting between Schmitt and Benjamin as a starting point to study a concept that plays a pivotal role for both of them : the state of emergency being given concrete expression by civil world war with Schmitt, and by civil war turned into terror with Benjamin. In the interplay of the concepts the meeting point focusing two very different lines of thought is also a divergent point. This will lead us at first to define civil world war as a signature, a semi concept or the illustration of a concept and, subsequently, to redefine what underlies these two conceptions, i.e. political temporality in a time of crisis for democracy.https://journals.openedition.org/asterion/2628civil world warsignaturetime and historyGiorgio AgambenCarl SchmittWalter Benjamin
spellingShingle Ninon Grangé
La guerre civile (mondiale ?) et le dialogue Schmitt-Benjamin
Astérion
civil world war
signature
time and history
Giorgio Agamben
Carl Schmitt
Walter Benjamin
title La guerre civile (mondiale ?) et le dialogue Schmitt-Benjamin
title_full La guerre civile (mondiale ?) et le dialogue Schmitt-Benjamin
title_fullStr La guerre civile (mondiale ?) et le dialogue Schmitt-Benjamin
title_full_unstemmed La guerre civile (mondiale ?) et le dialogue Schmitt-Benjamin
title_short La guerre civile (mondiale ?) et le dialogue Schmitt-Benjamin
title_sort la guerre civile mondiale et le dialogue schmitt benjamin
topic civil world war
signature
time and history
Giorgio Agamben
Carl Schmitt
Walter Benjamin
url https://journals.openedition.org/asterion/2628
work_keys_str_mv AT ninongrange laguerrecivilemondialeetledialogueschmittbenjamin