Freund-Feind-Denken

Carl Schmitt emphasised the crucial importance of the friend–enemy dichotomy for the political sphere. Is the connection between the concept of the enemy and politics still relevant today? Or does the political sphere need to be defined quite differently, on the one hand, and does the problem of enmity need to be dealt with beyond the political sphere, on the other?
Since the publication of this book’s 1st edition, the issue of ‘enmity’ has by no means been settled, as recent terrorist attacks have shown. On the contrary, hatred of those who think differently seems to be on the increase, and they are then demonised as ‘enemies’. This development is explored in the contributions to the book’s 2nd edition.
Rüdiger Voigt, professor emeritus of administrative science at the University of the German Armed Forces in Munich, is the author and editor of numerous books on state theory and state practice.