Global State(s) of Exception and Nomos of the Earth

This paper explores the contemporary relevance of Carl Schmitt’s political theory against the backdrop of the European Union, Russia, the United States, and China, elucidating how notions of sovereignty, decision, and Nomos shape global order today. Stefan Auer’s discussions on “Carl Schmitt in Brussels” and “Carl Schmitt in the Kremlin” set up a dialectic: the EU’s deliberate depoliticisation, manifesting as a vacuum of sovereign authority, is contrasted with Russia’s unapologetic affirmation of political decision and spatial reordering, as witnessed in the Ukraine crisis. The EU, conceived as an empire of law, stumbles in crises because it lacks a central authority to decide when norms are suspended, thereby illustrating Schmitt’s critique of liberal constitutionalism. Conversely, Russia’s annexation of Crimea exemplifies the full enactment of Schmitt’s theory, revealing how sovereignty becomes explicit in moments of existential decision. The analysis then turns to Washington, where Schmitt’s ideas find resonance in the U.S. presidential system’s emergency powers and in the country’s persistent friend–enemy framing in foreign and domestic politics. Meanwhile, Beijing’s single-party rule, centralised authority, and proactive management of perceived threats further reinforce Schmitt’s emphasis on the sovereign decision. Through these comparative cases, the paper synthesises Schmitt’s enduring significance, particularly his concepts of Nomos and the friend–enemy distinction, as frameworks for understanding the turbulence and transformation of today’s international order. The paper argues that, rather than being obsolete, Schmitt’s ghost haunts present-day geopolitics – yielding a world where legal rationality, sovereign power, and spatial rivalry collide, shaping the future through the persistent act of political decision

Annexation · Existentialism · Foreign policy · Geopolitics · International relations · Politics · Sovereign state · Sovereignty · State of exception · Marxism and Critical Theory · Political Theology and Sovereignty · Seventeenth-Century Political and Philosophical Thought