Oh, Schmitt!

On the subway today I was re-reading The Gripping Hand by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, which on its surface would appear to have very little to do with either history or political science, being that it is a science fiction book that is set far in the future and nowhere near Earth. However, one section of the book deals with a former traitor becoming deeply interested and involved in supporting the "Empire of Man" because he fears a possible attack by aliens. The character in question states that the only reason he came to support the empire was because he saw the aliens as a greater threat to his people than the empire was.

As I read this, I was reminded of Carl Schmitt's Concept of the Political and particularly his section of formation of identity and on the possibility of world peace. Schmitt posits that the only way we are going to get world peace is if the human race as a whole manages to identify an enemy-other against which we can form a common sense of self and unite. Niven and Pournelle, whether deliberately or coincidentally, pick up on this concept and use it in their book.

This also reminds me of a theory I was discussing Friday with my brother, namely Frederick Jackson Turner's theory of the frontier and its position in the formation of the American identity. Can a fusion of the Schmitt and Turner be created in which the sense of self develops through the opposition of not an enemy-other, but through overcoming geographic and other hardships? Can humanity be united in a common cause that doesn't involve trying to kill something else? Is our own survival a strong enough motivator? I for one have no idea, but I don't think combating global problems is going to bring global peace, but it might force a relaxation of some of the traditional definitions of sovereignty. If we are going to deal with say, the hole in the ozone layer or international trafficking of people and drugs than nations are going to have to work together to form common standards. It worked for stomping out the slave trade (though slowly) - maybe its worth paying attention to?