^aDepartment of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University Jyväskylä, P.O.B. 35, Jyväskylä FIN-40014, Finland. E-mail: kpalonen@cc.jyu.fi

Abstract

Conceptualisations of 'the political' and 'politics' tend to diverge quite significantly from one another in contemporary literature. The origins of this split can be traced back to the works of Carl Schmitt and Max Weber. By accentuating the opposition between these conceptions, we are able to detect two different attitudes toward politics. The Schmittian ideal of the political longs for stability that extends beyond the daily quarrels of politics, whereas the Weberian thinkers understand politics as a contingent activity par excellence.