L'estetica di Carl Schmitt

The thesis aims to redefine the relationship between background and foreground in Schmittian studies by considering aesthetics as essential to understanding his political theory. Schmitt had various interactions with contemporary artists and writers, providing a starting point for the analysis of his legal theories, along with his ambivalent relationship with German Romanticism. Many interpreters have noted this duality: Is Schmitt the sternest critic of Romanticism or, perhaps, its last adherent? From this framework, reflections emerge on the connections between aesthetic form and political form in Schmitt's thought and beyond. Political theology underscores the emptiness of the political, simultaneously proclaiming the aesthetic essence of the political form. This element, influenced by Schmitt, persists in contemporary philosophical-political reflection. However, the aesthetic essence of the political form seems open to criticism. Can we leverage this disconcerting revelation to our advantage? What implications does this hold for politics and aesthetics itself?