Andreas Engelmann: Über die erstaunliche Rückkehr der Staatsräson im Gewand der Moral [On the astonishing return of reason of state in the guise of morality], Etos, August 22, 2024.
In their first semester, law students learn something that we have always taken for granted in the Federal Republic of Germany: that the state’s monopoly on the use of force differs from that of a robber baron through the rule of law, through the state’s commitment to justice and the law – and through nothing else. Andreas Engelmann, a professor of law, takes a legal and historical approach to the concept of raison d’état, which dates back to feudal times (Macchiavelli!), and is surprised by its renaissance today. The fact that it appears “in a moral guise” today in connection with Germany’s special obligation to the State of Israel does not change its predatory nature: it legitimizes the fact that state and government interests can be placed above the law, above justice, and even above morality. Without legal constraints, there is nothing to prevent a government from becoming criminal. The anti-Semitism resolutions of the German parliament are only superficially about protecting Jewish life; in fact, they allow the state and politics to place the wishes of the government above the constitution. Using the tool of the resolution, which is supposedly non-binding, the state can avoid judicial review of the enforcement of its interests vis-à-vis individuals and groups. The fact that the state expects citizens to believe that it only wants good is part of the problem. “When dealing with a gang of robbers, you have to prove that you are ‘on the ground’ of the order they have set. What does it mean when the government provides for a check on whether its citizens are ‘on the ground of the constitution’? In a constitutional state, you don’t have to prove anything to the government. Whether this also applies to the Federal Republic of Germany is becoming more doubtful by the day.”
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