Consititutional Theory

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. Absolute concept of the constitution (the constitution as unified whole) -- Relative concept of the constitution (the constitution as a multitude of individual laws) -- The positive concept of the constitution (the constitution as the complete decision over the type and form of the political unity) -- Ideal concept of the constitution ("constitution" in an exemplary sense, thus named because of a certain content) -- The meanings of the term "basic law," basic norm or Lex fundamentalis (summarizing overview) -- Origin of the constitution -- The constitution as contract (the genuine constitutional contract) -- The constitution-making power -- Legitimacy of a constitution -- Consequences of the theory of the constitution-making power, of the people's constitution-making power in particular -- Concepts derived from the concept of the constitution (constitutional change, statutory violation of the constitution, constitutional suspension, constitutional dispute, high treason) -- The principles of the Bourgeois Rechtsstaat -- The Rechtsstaat concept of law -- The basic rights -- Separation (so-called division) of powers -- Bourgeois Rechtsstaat and political form -- The theory of democracy, fundamental concepts -- The people and the democratic constitution -- Consequences of the political principle of democracy -- Application of the political principle of democracy to individual areas of state life -- Boundaries of democracy -- The theory of monarchy -- Aristocratic elements in modern Bourgeois-Rechtsstaat constitutions -- The parliamentary system -- Historical overview of the development of the parliamentary system -- Overview of the possibilities for the formation of the parliamentary system -- The parliamentary system of the Weimar constitution -- Dissolution of Parliament -- Fundamental concepts of a constitutional theory of the federation -- Consequences of the fundamental concepts of the constitutional theory of the federation -- Appendix: The Weimar constitution Carl Schmitt's magnum opus, written during the Weimar regime, wherein Schmitt challenges the theories and practices of Western constitutional government, claiming that classical conceptions of democracy cannot be transposed onto modern political lif