The Leviathan in the State Theory of Thomas Hobbes ─ Meaning and Failure of a Political Symbol

One of the most significant political philosophers of the twentieth century, Carl Schmitt is a deeply controversial figure who has been labeled both Nazi sympathizer and modern-day Thomas Hobbes. First published in 1938, The Leviathan in the State Theory of Thomas Hobbes used the Enlightenment philosopher’s enduring symbol of the protective Leviathan to address the nature of modern statehood. A work that predicted the demise of the Third Reich and that still holds relevance in today’s security-obsessed society, this volume will be essential reading for students and scholars of political science.

“Carl Schmitt is surely the most controversial German political and legal philosopher of this century. . . . We deal with Schmitt, against all odds, because history stubbornly persists in proving many of his tenets right.”—Perspectives on Political Science

“[A] significant contribution. . . . The relation between Hobbes and Schmitt is one of the most important questions surrounding Schmitt: it includes a distinct, though occasionally vacillating, personal identification as well as an association of ideas.”—Telos

Carl Schmitt (1888–1985) was a legal and political theorist and constitutional lawyer. He is the author of several books published by the University of Chicago Press, including The Concept of the Political and Political Theology.

George D. Schwab is the president of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, which he cofounded in 1974, and professor emeritus of history at the City University of New York (Graduate Center and City College).

Erna Hilfstein (1925–2003) was a science historian and the author of Sarowolski's Biographies of Copernicus.