Thomas Hobbes im konfessionellen Bürgerkrieg. Carl Schmitts Hobbes-Bild und seine Wirkung im Kreis der alten Bundesrepublik

Abstract

Using a fair number of documents from the Carl Schmitt legacy, this study shows in great detail the change in Schmitt’s view on Thomas Hobbes and the history of it’s reception in the field of political science. The author distinguishes between the way this symbol is used in a mythological context, the research of the background of the symbol in the field of constitutional history and the way Schmitt’s notion is dealt with in the history of political ideas. With the Schmittian view having been put into a historical perspective, the symbol of the “Leviathan” has gone beyond its former restrictions and can now be used again for a wider range of political views.