Sovereignty and International Law from Vitoria to Schmitt

David Pan

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Chapter 7 Sovereignty and International Law from Vitoria to Schmitt

In: Carl Schmitt and Francisco de Vitoria

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David Pan

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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 152–175

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004757448_008

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Abstract

As opposed to the idea that international law might take precedence over state sovereignty in establishing a basis for global order, Carl Schmitt’s reading of Francisco de Vitoria proceeds from the idea that law only exists as the consequence of a form of sovereignty. In showing that Vitoria’s conception of global order also adheres to this understanding of the priority of sovereignty, Schmitt develops an idea of global order that is based on decisions about the way in which sovereignty is structured and the resulting power relations between such sovereign entities. While Schmitt proposes a global order dominated by a few regional hegemons, an alternative global order would be based on a nation-state conception of sovereignty that was proposed in the Treaty of Westphalia but could never be properly implemented until the end of colonialism.

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Carl Schmitt and Francisco de Vitoria

The Paradox of Universalism in International Law

Series: Legal History Library, Volume: 84/31 and Studies in the History of International Law, Volume: 84/31

Cover Carl Schmitt and Francisco de Vitoria

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004757448

Publisher:: Brill | Nijhoff

Print Publication Date:: 12 Mar 2026

Subjects
- History
- International Relations
  - International Relations

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Chapter 7 Sovereignty and International Law from Vitoria to Schmitt

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Carl Schmitt and Francisco de Vitoria

The Paradox of Universalism in International Law

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