Carl Schmitt

Carl Schmitt (11 July 1888 – 7 April 1985) was a German jurist and political philosopher. An authoritarian conservative, he was noted as a critic of parliamentary democracy, liberalism, and cosmopolitanism.

In 1933, Schmitt joined the Nazi Party and used his legal and political theories to provide ideological justification for the regime. He held various positions on Nazi councils, including the Prussian State Council and the Academy for German Law, and served as president of the National Socialist Association of Legal Professionals. By 1936, he had lost favour among senior Nazi officials and was removed from most of his official positions within the party. Schmitt and his work remain controversial for their association with Nazism.

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy writes, "Schmitt was an acute observer and analyst of the weaknesses of liberal constitutionalism and liberal cosmopolitanism. But there can be little doubt that his preferred cure turned out to be infinitely worse than the disease." His ideas remain highly influential, with scholars arguing he has influenced modern governance in China and Russia, as well as various strands of modern American conservatism.