9/11 and the characterization of a new (non-political) enemy

The September 11, 2001 attack has been a political event studied by many academic works from different perspectives. This book proposes the approach of the theoretical framework of Carl Schmitt, a German philosopher, who has worked extensively on the concept of the enemy to understand the political phenomenon, through works such as The Concept of the Political and Partisan Theory.By analyzing the Public Papers issued by President Bush after the attack, we seek to answer: Who is the political enemy, how is this political enemy characterized, how should the political enemy be confronted, and what constitutes this enemy for the political identity of the country?Thanks to Schmitt's theoretical framework, it is possible to demonstrate that when Bush declares the global war on terrorism, the institution of just war is revived, exposing the direct consequences of this principle of war for humanity. At the same time, the terrorist breaks with certain characteristics of the traditional enemy according to the European public law described by Schmitt, fundamental characteristics to understand the global war on terrorism.

Autorentext

Carolina Páez Gómez, undergraduate degree in International Relations and specialization in Economics from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. Participant of Carl Schmitt's workshops directed by Neftalí Suárez at the Faculty of Political Science and International Relations.