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“Sovereign is he who decides the exception.”
— Carl Schmitt (Political Theology: Four Chapters on the Concept of Sovereignty, 1922)
Welcome to the Institute.
Greetings! It is with deep humility and a strong sense of purpose that I formally welcome you to the Institute for the Study of States of Exception (ISSE). ISSE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing scholarship and dialogue on the misuse and abuse of states of exception worldwide–scenarios when laws or even entire constitutions are suspended under purported emergency circumstances, but in reality are intentionally framed improperly to enable democratic backsliding.