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The term crisis is commonly used in intellectual rhetoric, in scientific articles, by people in everyday contexts, and especially in public speeches by politicians. Since references to crisis (rhetoric of crisis) have a particular resonance in the political sphere, a better understanding of this concept is much needed. The aim of this article is to bring the term crisis into the context of political theory. This will be done via reference to the works of Carl Schmitt, Michael Walzer and Classical Realists such as Hans Morgenthau and Michael Williams. The term crisis will be characterized as part of an illocutionary speech act which signifies "politicization"; this means moving an issue from its "ordinary sphere" to the political sphere. On the basis of this contextualization, several models of crisis in the political sphere will be constructed. Adapted from the source document.