Sketch for Political Philosophy of the First World War: Schmitt, Clausewitz and the Problem of Hostility

This article aims to provide a sketch for a philosophical understanding of the notion of 'hostility' in the writings of Carl Schmitt, especially in connection with the emergence of the so-called 'total war' of the First World War. The objective is to understand central philosophical questions raised by the functioning of hostility between war and politics. What does it mean to define war as a phenomenon of hostility? Does it remain possible to refuse the logic of a policy based on the difference between friend and foe? Clausewitz in particular described how war should be perceived as a rational activity based on a political purpose. His confrontation with Schmitt's arguments within the context of the First World War is meant to show how hostility is a key issue for political philosophy.