Books by Carl Schmitt

Carl Schmitt ranks among the original and controversial political thinkers of the twentieth century. This book contains translations of Schmitt's 1958 commentary on the work, explanatory notes, and an appendix including articles of the Weimar constitution.

The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy offers a powerful criticism of the inconsistencies of representative democracy.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. The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy 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 Schmitt's 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. The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy is included in the series Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought, edited by Thomas McCarthy.

Frontmatter -- Vorbemerkung -- Übersicht -- I. Das Volksgesetzgebungsverfahren -- II. Die vom Volksgesetzgebungsverfahren ausgeschlossenen Angelegenheiten -- III. Die natürlichen Grenzen der unmittelbaren Demokratie

Den tyske jurist og statsteoretiker Carl Schmitt (1888-1985) er formentlig 1900-tallets mest omstridte politiske tænker. Hans blakkede ry stammer dels fra hans treårige medlemskab af det tyske nazistparti (1933-1936) og dels fra nogle af hans provokerende teser. Schmitt tog ikke offentligt afstand fra sit midlertidige nazistiske engagement hvilket naturligt nok gjorde ham til en persona non grata i efterkrigstidens Vesttyskland. At Schmitt alligevel har haft indflydelse på 1900-tallets politiske tænkning, skyldes bl.a. at hans tænkning trækker på hele den europæiske (ånds)historie hvilket er med til at give hans refleksioner over stat og politik autoritet. Skriftet Det politiskes begreb betragtes som et af Schmitts hovedværker, og det foreligger nu for første gang i dansk oversættelse. Hans tese er at begreber dannes af bestemte modsætningsforhold; moral bestemmes fx gennem modsætningen god-ond, mens økonomi defineres af modsætningen profit-nonprofit. Det politiskes begreb bygger ifølge Schmitt på modsætningen ven-fjende. Det forhold implicerer flere ting, bl.a. at det politiskes sagområde udgøres af netop denne sondring snarere end af fastlagte, uforanderlige bestanddele. Sondringen eller kriteriet ven-fjende kan hæve sig over alle andre eksisterende kriterier, forstået på den måde at et modsætningsforhold der fx kan karakteriseres som moralsk – altså byggende på sondringen god-ond – kan udvikle sig til et ven-fjende-forhold. Alle konflikter er i den forstand potentielt politiske. Oversat fra tysk efter Der Begriff des Politischen af Lars Bo Larsen og Christian Borch. Den danske udgave er forsynet med et forord af Carl Schmitts ven og tidligere kollega professor Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde samt en introduktion til Schmitts œuvre ved Lars Bo Kaspersen, lektor ved Sociologisk Institut, Københavns Universitet.

A pioneer in legal and political theory, Schmitt traces the prehistory of political romanticism by examining its relationship to revolutionary and reactionary tendencies in modern European history

Provides an interpretation of the Weimar Constitution. This book presents an argument that the legitimacy of a constitution depends on a sovereign decision of people. It develops an understanding of liberal constitutionalism that makes room for a strong, independent state. It includes an introduction by Jeffrey Seitzer and Christopher Thornhill.

Originally published: Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, c1986. With new introd.

When Germany was defeated in 1945, both the Russians and the Americans undertook mass internments in the territories they occupied. The Americans called their approach 'automatic arrest'.

Written in the early stages of the Cold War by one of the most controversial political and legal thinkers of the twentieth century, Carl Schmitt's two short dialogues on power and space bring together several dimensions of his work in new ways.

Written in the intense political and intellectual tumult of the early years of the Weimar Republic, this book develops the distinctive theory of sovereignty that made Carl Schmitt one of the most significant and controversial political theorists of the twentieth century. Schmitt concludes this book with a critique of liberalism.

* Carl Schmitt is widely recognized as one of the most important political theorists of the 20th century. This is the only remaining work by Carl Schmitt which has not yet been translated into English.

Bendersky provides the only English-language translation of one of Carl Schmitt's most controversial works.

Writings on War

One of the most significant political philosophers of the twentieth century, Carl Schmitt is a deeply controversial figure who has been labeled both a Nazi sympathizer and a modern-day Thomas Hobbes. This work uses the Enlightenment philosopher's enduring symbol of the protective Leviathan to address the nature of modern statehood.

Published here for the first time in English, this is Carl Schmitt's last book. Carl Schmitt is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important and influential political theorists of the 20th Century. His work has been taken up and much discussed by political theorists in the last few years.

Argues that liberalism's basis in individual rights cannot provide a reasonable justification for sacrificing one-self for the state. This edition highlights the author's intellectual journey through the turbulent period of German history leading to the Hitlerian one-party state.

Den idéhistoriske klassiker Parlamentarismens krise er en kras kritik af det repræsentative demokrati og en skarp analyse af de på Carl Schmitts tid aktuelle alternativer til parlamentarismen – nemlig kommunisme og fascisme. Parlamentarismens krise, der udkom første gang i 1923 og anses for at være en klassiker inden for det 20. århundredes tænkning, er en kraftfuld og tankevækkende kritik af det, som Schmitt mener, er det repræsentative demokratis indre inkonsistens, og værket er derfor ofte blevet læst som et forsøg fra Carl Schmitts side på at ødelægge parlamentarismen. Men faktisk er teksten, som oversætter Lars Christiansen er inde på i sin introduktion til bogen, Schmitts forsøg på at forsvare Weimar-republikken og i det lys, er bogen også et historisk indblik ind i Weimar-Tysklands politiske kultur. ANMELDELSER"Hvorfor dog udgive og læse den ærkereaktionære Carl Schmitt i dag? Det er der rigtig gode grunde til... Carl Schmitt præsenterer i Parlamentarismens krise et livskrafigt stykke modoplysning, og hans antiuniversalisme har vel næppe haft større opbakning siden Anden Verdenskrig." - Weekendavisen ♥♥♥♥♥ - Politiken ★★★★★ "Den snart 100 år gamle bog er både original og foruroligende i al sin dramatiske korthed." - Jyllands-Posten (5 stjerner) OM FORFATTEREN Carl Schmitt (1888-1985) var en kontroversiel og genial tænker, der er blevet beskrevet både som ’vor tids Hobbes’ og som ’nazismens filosofiske godfather’, hvis skarpsindige kritik af liberal-demokratiske idealer har gjort ham til en af de mest originale intellektuelle bidragsydere til moderne politiske tænkning.