On the Three Types of Juristic Thought

by Carl Schmitt

Bendersky provides the only English-language translation of one of Carl Schmitt's most controversial works. At the time of its publication in 1934 and during the war and the post-war years, the treatise was seen as a rationalization of the Nazi legal order. With the renaissance of Schmitt studies beginning in the 1980s, the man and his work, and this volume in particular, was reinterpreted. While some maintained that it was a foundation of Nazi legal theory and practice, others see it as a failed attempt at a conservative counterweight to the most extreme tendencies in National Socialism. Most see it in the context of Schmitt's intellectual growth and the challenges of the era.

An extended introduction and notes trace out the development of Schmitt's ideas as well as the various interpretations ehat have emerged to explain his work. Given the importance of Schmitt's ideas in modern political and judicial thought as well as its impact on constitution making, this translation will make this significant volume accessible to a wider readership of students and scholars of twentieth century political and legal theory.

Genres: Law, Philosophy, Politics

138 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1934

About the author

Carl Schmitt's early career as an academic lawyer falls into the last years of the Wilhelmine Empire. (See for Schmitt's life and career: Bendersky 1983; Balakrishnan 2000; Mehring 2009.) But Schmitt wrote his most influential works, as a young professor of constitutional law in Bonn and later in Berlin, during the Weimar-period: Political Theology, presenting Schmitt's theory of sovereignty, appeared in 1922, to be followed in 1923 by The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy, which attacked the legitimacy of parliamentary government. In 1927, Schmitt published the first version of his most famous work, The Concept of the Political, defending the view that all true politics is based on the distinction between friend and enemy. The culmination of Schmitt's work in the Weimar period, and arguably his greatest achievement, is the 1928 Constitutional Theory which systematically applied Schmitt's political theory to the interpretation of the Weimar constitution. During the political and constitutional crisis of the later Weimar Republic Schmitt published Legality and Legitimacy, a clear-sighted analysis of the breakdown of parliamentary government Germany, as well as The Guardian of the Constitution, which argued that the president as the head of the executive, and not a constitutional court, ought to be recognized as the guardian of the constitution. In these works from the later Weimar period, Schmitt's declared aim to defend the Weimar constitution is at times barely distinguishable from a call for constitutional revision towards a more authoritarian political framework (Dyzenhaus 1997, 70–85; Kennedy 2004, 154–78).

Though Schmitt had not been a supporter of National Socialism before Hitler came to power, he sided with the Nazis after 1933. Schmitt quickly obtained an influential position in the legal profession and came to be perceived as the ‘Crown Jurist’ of National Socialism. (Rüthers 1990; Mehring 2009, 304–436) He devoted himself, with undue enthusiasm, to such tasks as the defence of Hitler's extra-judicial killings of political opponents (PB 227–32) and the purging of German jurisprudence of Jewish influence (Gross 2007; Mehring 2009, 358–80). But Schmitt was ousted from his position of power within legal academia in 1936, after infighting with academic competitors who viewed Schmitt as a turncoat who had converted to Nazism only to advance his career. There is considerable debate about the causes of Schmitt's willingness to associate himself with the Nazis. Some authors point to Schmitt's strong ambition and his opportunistic character but deny ideological affinity (Bendersky 1983, 195–242; Schwab 1989). But a strong case has been made that Schmitt's anti-liberal jurisprudence, as well as his fervent anti-semitism, disposed him to support the Nazi regime (Dyzenhaus 1997, 85–101; Scheuerman 1999). Throughout the later Nazi period, Schmitt's work focused on questions of international law. The immediate motivation for this turn seems to have been the aim to justify Nazi-expansionism. But Schmitt was interested in the wider question of the foundations of international law, and he was convinced that the turn towards liberal cosmopolitanism in 20th century international law would undermine the conditions of stable and legitimate international legal order. Schmitt's theoretical work on the foundations of international law culminated in The Nomos of the Earth, written in the early 1940's, but not published before 1950. Due to his support for and involvement with the Nazi dictatorship, the obstinately unrepentant Schmitt was not allowed to return to an academic job after 1945 (Mehring 2009, 438–63). But he nevertheless remained an important figure in West Germany's conservative intellectual scene to his death in 1985 (van Laak 2002) and enjoyed a considerable degree of clandestine influence elsewhere (Scheuerman 1999, 183–251; Müller 2003).

Unsurprisingly, the significance and value of Schmitt's works

Reviews

[Paola Fernández · Rating 3 out of 5]

nazi hediondo

[Karo · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a big big book that I love so much it's a nice look at my place on earth 🌎I not playing for my birthday

[Helmut Andrés · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un texto increíblemente bueno (de 1934). Si bien hay un análisis profundo sobre las formas de pensar las ciencias jurídicas, puede evidenciarse un sesgo por parte del autor a favor del Movimiento Nacional Socialista y su líder: Adolf Hitler. Objetivamente, el autor brinda su capacidad intelectual al apoyo del régimen que sería uno de los más nefastos de la historia universal.

Muchos elementos jurídico - históricos que permiten sustentar su postura y es sobre lo primero que estriba parte de su importancia. Asimismo, resulta un texto imprescindible para el estudio de la integridad de la obra de Schmitt.

[A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Als je wilt weten in welk opzicht Carl Schmitt een nationaalsocialist was moet je dit boek lezen. Hier brengt hij zijn rechtsdenken in verband met het opkomende regime van het nationaalsocialisme en gaat hij openlijk zijn steun uitspreken voor Hitler.

[Mario Herranz · Rating 3 out of 5]

No está mal pero el tío es pila nazi

[Booksearcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carl Schmitt elabora aquí una crítica al normativismo y al decisionismo, que se aúnan en el positivismo jurídico, a partir de la teoría institucionalista del Derecho, que él prefiere llamar teoría del orden concreto. La teoría presupone una situación social ya dada a partir de la cual es que se pueden postular normas y decisiones políticas.

[Vincent Komaroff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Synthèse brillante des trois types de pensées juridiques (normativisme, décisionnisme, la synthèse des deux qui n'est pas un type mais plutôt une pensée momentanée qu'est le positivisme, enfin le type de l'ordre concret) de la part d'un des plus grands penseurs du droit qu'est connu le XXème siècle : Carl Schmitt.