Una guerriglia universale». L'inimicizia politica nella riflessione teorica dell'ultimo secolo

The political value of enmity has been a recurring theme in theoretical discourse over the past century. This essay retraces key phases in the exploration of this concept beginning with Carl Schmitt's hypothesis regarding the «criterion» of the political. Building on analyses by pivotal contributors to the debate, it examines the relationship between the «intensity» of enmity and the transformations in the nature of war. The authors argue that the evolution of war into a form of «world civil war» became particularly evident after 1989, establishing a new interpretive framework for enmity that moves «beyond Clausewitz». This shiftunderscores a reimagining of politics as the continuation of war by other means.