An examination on the historical and philosophical foundations of Carl Schmitt's political thought

Carl Schmitt is a thinker mostly studied in the context of his political thoughts. In this study, Schmitt's political thought will be examined in the context of its historical and philosophical foundations. In this respect, primarily, the effects of the changes in Germany's political-historical conjuncture both on Schmitt's life and on his works will be covered. Then, some of the most important thinkers that Schmitt can be associated with in terms of his philosophy will be discussed. One of them is Augustine and he will be treated through his notion of "the city of God". Another thinker is Machiavelli and he will be covered through his thoughts on war. Bodin will be treated in terms of his views on "moment of crisis", Hobbes on "decision" and Rousseau on "homogeneity". In addition to these thinkers Schmitt's thought will try to be associated mostly with Kierkegaard in its existential dimension. Lastly, this study, while scrutinizing historical and philosophical foundations of Schmitt's political thought, it also aims to connect his notions like "friend-enemy distinction", "self" and "other" to the existential thoughts of Kierkegaard. As a result of that, it aims to cover the connection between Schmitt's political thought and notions like freedom, decision, choice, anxiety, responsibility and ruler-ruled relation through Kierkegaardian thought. Keywords: Carl Schmitt, Schmittian theory, The Political, Political unity, Decision, Friend-enemy distinction, War, State of Exception.