Bonhoeffer, Schmitt, and the state of exception

In this article I examine the concept of ‘the extraordinary’ in two Bonhoeffer books, Discipleship and Ethics. Through a comparison with Carl Schmitt’s political concept of ‘the state of exception’, I draw attention to the political theology that I argue lies inherent in Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The con...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Brown, Petra (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage Publ. 2013
In: Pacifica
Year: 2013, Volume: 26, Issue: 3, Pages: 246-264
Further subjects:B state of exception
B Giorgio Agamben
B Dietrich Bonhoeffer
B Carl Schmitt
B Political Theology
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Parallel Edition:Non-electronic
Description
Summary:In this article I examine the concept of ‘the extraordinary’ in two Bonhoeffer books, Discipleship and Ethics. Through a comparison with Carl Schmitt’s political concept of ‘the state of exception’, I draw attention to the political theology that I argue lies inherent in Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The contemporary application of this lies in the use of Bonhoeffer and the idea of ‘exception’ in contemporary American political discourse since 9/11. I investigate the consequences of this using Giorgio Agamben’s critique that states of exceptions lead to violence without reference. I address two objections to my reading of Bonhoeffer, and the political theology that I argue arises out of Bonhoeffer’s concept of the ‘extraordinary’.
ISSN:1839-2598
Contains:Enthalten in: Pacifica
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/1030570X13502135