Schmitt on Sovereignty and the State of Exception - A Commentary on Carl Schmitt's 'Politische Theologie'

This Palgrave Pivot offers a balanced and impartial commentary on one of the most important of the early writings by the German legal scholar Carl Schmitt. The book is known mostly by its title Politische Theologie but Schmitt s subtitle indicated that his book was on more than political theology, but was focused on conceptions of sovereignty, authority, and the state of exception .
The author shows how the Politische Theologie published in 1922 clearly formulated Schmitt s thinking regarding decisionism, dictatorship, and sovereignty, and how these notions intertwined to propose a governmental model opposed to parliamentary democracy. The book illuminates Carl Schmitt s role in theorising the state of exception as he engaged in debates with those who contended that democratic principles were crucial. Schmitt insisted there needs to be a sovereign individual whose authority provides an immediate decision to the state of exception. This book will be of interest to scholars of legal and political philosophy, as well as those interested broadly in ideas of classical liberalism, wartime political economy, authoritarianism and socio-economic influences on legal thinking.

List of contents

Chapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. Schmitt and Dictatorship.- Chapter 3. Schmitt and Sovereignty.- Chapter 4. 'Die Diktatur des Reichspräsidenten'.- Chapter 5. Conclusion: Decisionism, Authority, Sovereignty, and the 'State of Exception'.

Product details

• Authors: Christopher Adair-Toteff
• Publisher: Springer, Berlin
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 22.07.2025
• EAN: 9783031917271
• ISBN: 978-3-0-3191727-1
• No. of pages: 99
• Illustrations: VIII, 99 p. 1 illus.
• Series: Palgrave Studies in Classical Liberalism
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Politics and business; Politische Theologie, Soziale und politische Philosophie, Max Weber, Rechtsmethodik, Rechtstheorie und Rechtsphilosophie, Political Philosophy, Political Theory, Carl Schmitt, State of Exception, Dictatorship, sovereignty, Political Theology, Theories of Law, Philosophy of Law, Legal History, Political Economy and Economic Systems, Third Reich, Politikwissenschaft und politische Theorie, Decisionism, Schmittian theory, Weimar constitutional law, German federalism, Carl Schmitt's 'Politische Theologie'