ABSTRACT
To answer these questions is an em inently political task. It is tantam ount to deciding who is w ith ‘us’ and who is against ‘us’, or in other words it means
determining the international public enemy. According to Carl Schmitt, ‘The spe cific political distinction to which political actions and motives can be reduced is that between friend and enemy ’ .1 The person, group or institution that has the authority to draw this distinction holds the key to sovereign power. W riting in the early 19 3 0 s, Schmitt was thinking primarily about the nation-state of his time and its leaders. But the m om ent has come to apply Schmitt’s ideas to the international realm, given the fact that the determ ination of the international public enemy (read ‘terrorist’), whether by definition or on a case-by-case basis, is a m atter of worldwide concern.
