"Courageous or Coerced?" Europe´s role in a changing geopolitical order

The Europeanist Society and the Austrian Society are delighted to host Member of the European Parliament Lukas Mandl for a talk on European geopolitics, the urgent need for courage, and the dire consequences of inaction.

Lukas Mandl served as Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence, and currently chairs the European Parliament’s Delegation to the Korean Peninsula. He is also President of the Altiero Spinelli Group and the European Federalist Movement Austria.

The Leviathan in the State Theory of Thomas Hobbes

Over the last 3 weeks, we have observed the praise that Schmitt heaped on Hobbes. However, Schmitt’s ‘The Leviathan in the State Theory of Thomas Hobbes’ demonstrates not only Schmitt’s own significantly more authoritarian political theory but also puts Schmitt’s antisemitism on full display. This week, we will examine Schmitt’s critique of the distinction between private and public spheres. We will also examine his understanding of organic political unity.

The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy

‘The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy’ is less well known compared to the texts explored in the previous two weeks. However, it contains Schmitt’s most direct and sustained attack on liberal democracy as a theoretical ideal. The seminar will explore Schmitt’s criticism that liberal democracy is an oxymoron, paying close attention to Schmitt’s understanding of liberalism and democracy respectively. We will then connect Schmitt’s understanding of democracy with his concept of the political and sovereignty.

The Concept of the Political

In ‘The Concept of the Political’, Schmitt presents the friend-enemy distinction, arguably his most well known political concept. This seminar seeks to unpack Schmitt’s full defence of his agonistic account of politics as an existential fact of life. We will also connect the friend-enemy distinction to Schmitt’s concept of sovereignty discussed last week. After unpacking Schmitt’s argument, we will shift focus to Schmitt’s somewhat unexpected quasi-Marxian condemnation of economic warfare and his critique of liberalism as an ideology which seeks to dispense with politics.

Political Theology

‘Political Theology’ is most well known as the book where Schmitt offers his famous definition of the sovereign as he who decides the exception. However, sandwiched between byzantine early 20th century German jurisprudential debates and commentary about obscure anti-modern Catholic reactionaries are less well known but equally important concepts. This seminar will explore Schmitt’s concepts of the state of exception, sovereignty, and decisionism. We will also spend some time examining Schmitt’s critique of the liberal account of the rule of law within ‘Political Theology’.

Introduction to Carl Schmitt

Carl Schmitt and his work has been slowly clawing their way towards the political and academic mainstream in the English speaking world since his work began being translated into English in the 1980s. The ‘Crown Jurist of the Third Reich’ has become an important interlocutor for a sizable number of significant academics and political figures from Habermas, Derrida, and Agamben to Dugin, Vermuele, and JD Vance. In this first seminar, we will explore who Carl Schmitt was and how this contextualises his work.

Tamta Tsotskhalashvili

I am the Senior Development Executive for Oxford’s Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR), where I lead on securing philanthropic support for research and teaching in areas like democratic resilience, political leadership, and global stability.

Working closely with academics and colleagues across the University, I help shape fundraising priorities and build relationships with donors to support the Department’s ambitious goals. I’m passionate about connecting people with ideas that make a difference.

Adin Chan

Adin is a current DPhil student researching strategic culture, identity, and historical memory. He is particularly interested in Canada's peacekeeping identity and its relation to foreign policy decisions. Adin also completed his MPhil in International Relations at the DPIR, during which he researched strategic decision making in the international administered territories of Bosnia, Kosovo, and East Timor.

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