Carl Schmitt in China: Why Is He Needed and How Is He Understood? – An Analysis of Chinese Political Constitutional Theory

Abstract

Carl Schmitt’s constitutional theory has been unexpectedly revived at the end of the first decade of the 21st century in China and contributes essentially to the emergence and boom of Chinese political constitutional theory. Through a concise description of constitutional history in the People’s Republic of China, this article examines firstly the background as to why his constitutional theory is needed in China. It then proceeds to analyse the principle theoretical points made by Carl Schmitt, which are selected and reconstructed so as to explain and justify the special political reality under the Party-state. The article concludes that by degrading and withholding the normativity present in the existing Chinese Constitution, Chinese political constitutional theory hollows out the core connotations of the recently established “socialist rule of law state”, impedes the enforcement of the constitution and finally serves to euthanize the existing Chinese Constitution.