The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy

<b><i>The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy</i> offers a powerful criticism of the inconsistencies of representative democracy.</b><p>Described both as the Hobbes of our age and as the philosophical godfather of Nazism Carl Schmitt was a brilliant and controversial political theorist whose doctrine of political leadership and critique of liberal democratic ideals distinguish him as one of the most original contributors to modern political theory. <i>The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy</i> offers a powerful criticism of the inconsistencies of representative democracy. First published in 1923 it has often been viewed as an attempt to destroy parliamentarism; in fact it was Schmitts attempt to defend the Weimar constitution. The introduction to this new translation places the book in proper historical context and provides a useful guide to several aspects of Weimar political culture. <i>The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy</i> is included in the series Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought edited by Thomas McCarthy.</p>