Constitutional Theory

<div>Carl Schmitt's magnum opus <i>Constitutional Theory</i> 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 <i>Constitutional Theory</i> 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.<p><i>Constitutional Theory</i> 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 <i>Constitutional Theory</i>; 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.</p></div>