From Friend-Enemy to Agonistic Pluralism. Chantal Mouffe's way of dealing with Carl Schmitt

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Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject Politics - Political Theory and the History of Ideas Journal, grade: High Merit, , course: The Challenge of Carl Schmitt, language: English, abstract: Carl Schmitt is not only known for his remarkable influence on 20th century legal and political theory, but also for his close allegiance with Nazism. Whereas some say that his Nazi experience cant be separated from his ideas, it is even more surprising that radical democrat Chantal Mouffe comes up with a way of using Schmitts ideas to rethink contemporary politics. Her reflection on and modification of Schmitts friend-enemy distinction led her to a friend-adversary distinction that underlies her notion of agonistic pluralism. The aim of this essay is to outline in what way Mouffes account of agonistic pluralism resembles Schmitts friend-enemy distinction. First, we have a look on Schmitts friend-enemy distinction. Then, we will focus on Chantal Mouffes modification of Schmitts distinction and mention besides widely discussed commonalities and differences between her and Schmitts conception a difference that until now hasnt received much attention in the literature: the different accounts of the preferred location of the friends opponent. In the last part of this essay, a weakness that both conceptions share and that until now didnt receive the attention it deserves, will be presented, namely their failure to recognize that friend-opponent distinctions are not necessarily tied to membership of a certain political entity. In the last paragraph, possible implications of this weakness on the relationship between Schmitts and Mouffes friend-opponent distinctions and cosmopolitanism will be outlined.

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