Carl Schmitt: The End of LawUntil the publication of this pathbreaking book, most scholarly studies of Carl Schmitt offered an oversimplistic, apologetic account of Schmitt's intellectual and political sympathies to Nazi fascism, or they crudely criticized his ideas by caricaturing them. In this full-length study in English of Germany's most influential authoritarian right-wing political and legal thinker, award-winning political theorist William E. Scheuerman examines in close detail the profound impact of Schmitt's critique of the liberal rule of law, and he describes how Schmitt's understanding of liberal jurisprudence led him to embrace National Socialism as a viable alternative to the perceived pathologies of the liberal rule of law. Scheuerman illustrates how, in the aftermath of World War II, influential political theorists, particularly Schumpter, Hayek, and Morgenthau, imported Schmitt's ideas into American political discourse. Although none of these writers were followers of Schmitt, each one engaged in a "hidden dialogue" with him that shaped important facets of the intellectual discourse in postwar America. Carl Schmitt is an original, engaging study that will be of great value to political theorists and those interested in twentieth-century intellectual history and political philosophy. |
Contents
The Crisis of Legal Indeterminacy | 15 |
the Decay of Parliamentarism | 39 |
The Critique of Liberal Constitutionalism | 61 |
The Total State | 85 |
After Legal Indeterminacy? | 113 |
Indeterminacy and International Law | 141 |
Carl Schmitt in the Aftermath of the German Catastrophe | 175 |
Carl Schmitt and the Origins of Joseph Schumpeters Theory of Democratic Elitism | 183 |
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allegedly American anti-Semitic authoritarian basic Begriffe Capitalism Carl Schmitt central century character classical liberal Constitutional Theory core Crisis of Parliamentary critical defenders democratic described dictatorship discretionary distinct economic elements elite endorsed ethnic example formalistic fundamentally German Grossraum Hans Kelsen Hans Morgenthau Hayek homogeneity hostile Hüter der Verfassung ideals indeterminacy thesis intellectual international law interpretation interventionist judges judicial jurists Kelsen legal indeterminacy legal norms legal order legal positivism legal system legal theory legislative Leo Strauss liberal democracy liberal international liberal international law liberal jurisprudence liberal legal liberal parliamentarism means modern Monroe Doctrine moral Morgenthau National Socialism National Socialist Nazi Nazism Nonetheless normativism normativistic Parliamentary Democracy political and legal Political Theology political theory problem quest Recht Reich represents rule of law Schmitt's theory Schmitt's view Schmitt's writings Schumpeter Schumpeter's simply Staat suggests theorists tion tional traditional liberal University Press Verfassungslehre Volk Völkerrechtliche Weber Weimar welfare