Carl Schmitt

"The people cannot rule themselves directly; they need representation."

"Secrecy is essential to state power."

"Modern conflict has made the old distinctions obsolete."

"The constitution cannot regulate the moment of its own establishment."

"Radicalism is not conservatism; it is its opposite."

"Identity is defined not by what one is, but by whom one opposes."

"The enemy is he who is fundamentally different from us."

"Neutrality presupposes the existence of a tertium non datur."

"Power operates in the space between law and exception."

"The modern state has no external enemies, only internal ones."

"Sovereignty cannot be divided; it is absolute or it is not."

"Every state eventually faces an existential threat."

"The will to survive is more fundamental than the will to justice."

"Technology serves the interests of the powerful."

"Language shapes political reality more than reality shapes language."

"The decision maker must be prepared to stand alone."

"Conventionality is the enemy of genuine thought."

"Every norm presupposes an instance capable of deciding on exceptions."

"The state of nature is not peace but perpetual war."

"Industrial society has not overcome the political."

"Argument without force is ineffective; force without argument is barbarism."

"The majority does not determine legitimacy."

"Homogeneity is the precondition of democracy."

"Legality and legitimacy diverge in times of crisis."

"Every political order rests on a fiction."

"The exception is the moment when the political reveals itself."

"Enemies cannot be chosen; they are given by circumstances."

"Modern rationalism has failed to eliminate myth from politics."

"The boundary of the state is not natural but decided."

"Universalism is the mask worn by particularism."