Constitutional Theory, Paperback/Carl Schmitt

Carl Schmitt's magnum opus, Constitutional Theory , was originally published in 1928 and has been in print in German ever since. This volume makes Schmitt's masterpiece of comparative constitutionalism available to English-language readers for the first time. Schmitt is considered by many to be one of the most original--and, because of his collaboration with the Nazi party, controversial--political thinkers of the twentieth century. In Constitutional Theory , Schmitt provides a highly distinctive and provocative interpretation of the Weimar Constitution. At the center of this interpretation lies his famous argument that the legitimacy of a constitution depends on a sovereign decision of the people. In addition to being subject to long-standing debate among legal and political theorists in Western Europe and the United States, this theory of constitution-making as decision has profoundly influenced constitutional theorists and designers in Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. Constitutional Theory is a significant departure from Schmitt's more polemical Weimar-era works not just in terms of its moderate tone. Through a comparative history of constitutional government in Europe and the United States, Schmitt develops an understanding of liberal constitutionalism that makes room for a strong, independent state. This edition includes an introduction by Jeffrey Seitzer and Christopher Thornhill outlining the cultural, intellectual, and political contexts in which Schmitt wrote Constitutional Theory ; they point out what is distinctive about the work, examine its reception in the postwar era, and consider its larger theoretical ramifications. This volume also contains extensive editorial notes and a translation of the Weimar Constitution. About the Author Carl Schmitt (1888-1985) was a leading German political and legal theorist. Among his many books are The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy , Political Romanticism , The Concept of the Political , Political Theology , and Legality and Legitimacy , which is also published by Duke University Press. Jeffrey Seitzer teaches at Roosevelt University. He is the author of Comparative History and Legal Theory: Carl Schmitt in the First German Democracy and the editor and translator of Carl Schmitt's Legality and Legitimacy . Ellen Kennedy is Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of Constitutional Failure: Carl Schmitt in Weimar , also published by Duke University Press. Christopher Thornhill is Professor of Politics at the University of Glasgow. He is the author of German Political Philosophy: The Metaphysics of Law .