Includes bibliographical references (p. [252]-287) and index.

A German public lawyer in the twentieth century -- In search of stability I : Schmittianism in German constitutional jurisprudence -- In search of stability II : industrial society, technocracy and the extinction of political will -- Visions of global order : Schmitt, Aron and the civil servant of the world spirit -- Schmitt and his historians : philosophies of history, the global civil war, and stranded objects -- Melancholy modernism : the Ritter School -- Don Carlos in Iberia : the 'new states' and the integrity of old Europe -- The partisan in the landscape of treason : Schmitt's theory of guerilla warfare, and its partisans -- Dangerous labyrinths : political theology and the legitimacy of the liberal age -- Dangerous liaisons : Schmitt, the new left and the limits of liberalism -- Terror, states of emergency and the liberal secessions -- The death (and strange rebirth) of Carl Schmitt -- Integral Europe and the rise of the European new right(s) -- Schmitt's globalization : drawing the lines.

"Carl Schmitt (1888-1985) was one of the 20th century's most brilliant and disturbing critics of liberalism. He was also one of the most important intellectuals to offer his services to the Nazis, for which he was dubbed the "crown jurist of the Third Reich". Despite this fateful alliance Schmitt has exercised a profound influence on post-war European political and legal thought - on both the right and the left. In this study, Jan-Werner Muller traces the permutations of Schmitt's ideas after World War II and relates them to broader political developments in Europe. Offering an account of Schmitt's life and career along with discussions of his key concepts, Muller explains why interest in the political theorist continues. He assesses the uses of Schmitt's thought in debates on globalization and the quest for a liberal world order. He also offers insights into the liberalization of political thinking in post-authoritarian societies and the persistent vulnerabilities and blind spots of certain strands of Western liberalism." - Copac