Schmitt and Tocqueville on the Future of the Political in Democratic Times

Tocqueville can easily be seen as the symbol of the French liberal thought whereas Schmitt is considered as the brightest opponent of the liberal doctrine. Trying to reconcile their theories might thus seem counterintuitive. However, delving into Schmitt's work reveals that the German thinker a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Review of politics 2012-10, Vol.74 (4), p.659-684
Main Authors: Camus, Anaïs, Storme, Tristan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Borders
Convergence
de Tocqueville, Alexis Charles Henri Maurice Clerel
Democracy
Democratic regimes
France
Freedom
Germany
Historians
Individualism
Intellectuals
Law
Liberalism
Liberals
Philosophy
Philosophy of history. Social and political philosophy. Philosophy of law
Political ideologies
Political philosophy
Political revolutions
Popular sovereignty
Social and political philosophy
Social evolution
Sovereignty
Theology
United States history
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Summary:Tocqueville can easily be seen as the symbol of the French liberal thought whereas Schmitt is considered as the brightest opponent of the liberal doctrine. Trying to reconcile their theories might thus seem counterintuitive. However, delving into Schmitt's work reveals that the German thinker admired his French counterpart. As the question of their potential intellectual proximity becomes relevant, this article offers a first glance into what appears as a somehow connected interpretation of the democratic phenomenon in relation to their fear of possible depoliticizations. While they elaborate on distinct and almost contradictory questions which develop along diverging architectonics, the historian and the jurist show a deep problématique convergence. Furthermore, their reservations concerning the enlargement of national borders, individualism, and popular sovereignty reinforce this intuition with one notable exception: Schmitt keeps on ousting the variable “liberty” from Tocqueville's democratic equation.
ISSN:0034-6705
1748-6858
DOI:10.1017/S0034670512000794