Carl Shmitt State Of Exception Summary

Carl Schmitt defines the “state of exception” as a condition that suspends normal legal norms and influences the increase in the exercise of sovereign power in a state of emergency or crisis. Throughout his writings, he uses examples from the Civil War Reconstruction era in the United States to support his argument that in times of crisis or emergency, the sovereign has the authority to set aside existing laws and norms in order to preserve the state as a whole. During the Reconstruction era in the United States, the nation was addressing the challenges and complexities of the violent Civil War. A few of the challenges and complexities faced were the abolishment of slavery, which in turn led to the establishment of a new system of labor. Another
As mentioned previously, Schmitt's theory of the “state of exception” allows the suspension of legal norms in order to prevent and ensure a preserved state. Post-Civil War the government implemented measures such as martial law or military occupation of the South, which suspended many traditional legal protections in the name of preserving the Union and ensuring the rights of newly freed slaves. Schmitt discusses martial law in his writings in correspondence to his view of the “state of exception”. He uses martial law to shed light on sovereign power, allowing in times of crisis that the government may suspend all legal norms to allow military authorities to have the utmost power to ensure the safety of the state. He wanted to ensure there was a reciprocal relationship between means and ends of power by limiting the military’s power through only times of crisis. Schmitt believed that applying martial law would help ensure less violence from occurring in the nation and restore the authority of the government. However, at the same time during the restoration of Confederate states, the threat of using martial law was a big deal in those