Abstract
This chapter critically analyses Bonhoeffer’s concept of the ‘extraordinary situation’ in light of Schmitt’s idea of the ‘state of exception’. It considers the extent to which Bonhoeffer’s writing on the ‘extraordinary situation’ suffers from the same dangers inherent in Schmitt’s thinking around exception. It suggests that Bonhoeffer’s concept of the ‘extraordinary’ potentially radicalises Schmitt’s concept of ‘exception’ as it extends to each disciple or follower of Christ, thereby potentially authorising each follower of Christ to enact violence in a ‘last resort’ scenario.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Adams, Samuel V. 2015. The Reality of God and Historical Method: Apocalyptic Theology in Conversation with N.T. Wright. New Explorations in Theology. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.
Agamben, Giorgio. 2005. State of Exception, trans. Kevin Attell. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.
Bethge, Eberhard. 1977. Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Theologian, Christian, Contemporary, trans. Eric Mosbacher, Peter and Betty Ross, Frank Clarke, and William Glen-Doepel. London: Fountain Books.
Bonhoeffer. 2003. Discipleship, trans. Barbara Green and Reinhard Krauss. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works English. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. 2004. Creation and Fall. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works English. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. 2009. Ethics, trans. Reinhard Krauss, Charles C. West, and Douglass W. Stott. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works English. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.
Brown, Petra. 2013. Bonhoeffer, Schmitt, and the State of Exception. Pacifica: Australasian Theological Studies 26 (3): 246–264.
Charles, J.D. 2008. Retrieving the Natural Law: A Return to Moral First Things. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
Eichhorn, Mathias. 1994. Es wird regiert! Berlin: Duncker & Humblot.
Gregersen, Niels Henrik. 2007. The Mysteries of Christ and Creation. In Mysteries in the Theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, ed. Kirsten Busch Nielsen, Ulrik Nissen, and Christiane Tietz, 135–158. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
Hauerwas, Stanley. 2004. Dietrich Bonhoeffer. In The Blackwell Companion to Political Theology, ed. Peter Scott and William T. Cavenaugh, 136–149. Malden and Oxford: Blackwell.
Hirst, Paul. 1987. Carl Schmitt’s Decisionism. Telos 72: 15–26.
Lenowitz, Jeffrey. 2008. Obedience at the Time of Necessitá: Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Theory of Resistance. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of Western Political Science Association, 2008 Annual Meeting, San Diego.
Meier, Heinrich. 2011. The Lesson of Carl Schmitt: Four Chapters on the Distinction Between Political Theology and Political Philosophy, trans. Marcus Brainard. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Moses, John A. 1999. Bonhoeffer’s Germany: The Political Context. In The Cambridge Companion to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, ed. John de Gruchy, 3–21. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.
Plant, Stephen. 2004. Bonhoeffer. London and New York: Continuum.
Radler, Karola. 2011. “…Whereas I Am Trying to Think Theologically”: Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Hidden Dialogue with Carl Schmitt on Representation: A Theological Response to a Jurisprudential Challenge During a Political Crisis. Edmonton, Alberta: St Stephen’s College.
Schlingensiepen, Ferdinand. 2010. Dietrich Bonhoeffer 1906–1945: Martyr, Thinker, Man of Resistance, trans. Isabel Best. London and New York: T & T Clark International.
Schmitt, Carl. 2005. Political Theology: Four Chapters on the Concept of Sovereignty, trans. George Schwab. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press.
Schwab, George. 1989. The Challenge of the Exception: An Introduction to the Political Ideas of Carl Schmitt Between 1921 and 1936. New York: Greenwood Press.
Scott, Peter. 2004. Creation. In The Blackwell Companion to Political Theology, ed. Peter Scott and William T Cavanaugh, 333–347. Malden and Oxford: Blackwell.
Ziegler, Philip G. 2007. Dietrich Bonhoeffer—An Ethics of God’s Apocalypse? Modern Theology 23 (4): 579.
Ziegler, Philip G. 2013. Witness to Christ’s Dominion: The Political Service of the Church. Theology 116 (5): 323–331. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040571x13493582.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Brown, P. (2019). The Extraordinary Situation and the State of Exception. In: Bonhoeffer. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05698-8_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05698-8_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-05697-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-05698-8
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)