ABSTRACT
Carl Schmitt's point is far from a trivial one. By stressing the foundations of how we conceptualize and measure space in relations of power and antagonism, he highlights that there is no neutral, simply given space. This chapter describes both dimensions in Schmitt's international thought and examines the way in which he describes the connection, and destructive disconnection, of a spatial order from its sacred orientation. It argues that Schmitt's analysis points to three areas for further reflection, pertaining to the continuing importance of symbols and rituals even in liberal democracies. Political entities come in different forms, such as city states or empires, from the early modern era and onwards, interrelations between political entities in Europe increasingly concerned interrelations between states. Concerning the Third Reich, this political idea would have to be a version of National Socialist ideology. The chapter Schmitt's opposition to the 'spirit of technicity' and the disjunction of the latter from the laudable aspects of occidental rationalism.
