Arendtian Constitutionalism: Law, Politics and the Order of Freedom

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The meaning and function of law in Hannah Arendts work has never been the subject of a systematic reconstruction. This book examines Arendts work and reconstructs her ideas through political, legal and constitutional theory, and shows that her engagement with law is continuous as well as crucial to an adequate understanding of her political thought. The author argues that Arendt was very much concerned with the question of an adequate arrangement of law, politics and order the so-called triad of constitutionalism. By adopting this approach, the author suggests an alternative interpretation of Arendts thought, which sees her as thinker of political order who considers as crucial a stable and free political order in which political struggle and dissent can occur. Endorsements Christian Volk is one of the most original and penetrating Arendt interpreters of his generation. This book addresses some of the most misunderstood aspects of Arendtian thought namely, her views of law and constitutionalism. Volk does away with a lot of misconceptions and guides us to a novel view of Arendt on these questions and beyond. Seyla Benhabib, Yale University One could not imagine something new on Arendt these days. Too much has been written in the last decades. But this volume discloses new land and gives a fresh look at Arendt's theory of the political. A great book, and a must for every reading list. Hauke Brunkhorst, University of Flensburg Hannah Arendt is famous for her unusual conception of politics, but as Christian Volk's rich and seminal study shows, Arendt's political theory goes hand in hand with a distinctive understanding of law. Volk persuasively charts the emergence of Arendt's complementary approaches to law and politics out of her analysis of the crisis of the European nation-state, and tests the power of her thought by bringing it into a fresh dialogue with an unusually wide spectrum of contemporary theorists. An impressive work that deserves the new audience it will find in this welcome translation. Patchen Markell, University of Chicago Christian Volk splendidly discovers Hannah Arendt as a legal theorist. Lawyers interested in her seminal work should just read this book. Christoph Mllers, Humboldt University Berlin As Christian Volk persuasively demonstrates, reading Arendt as a constitutional theorist is more than just adding another dimension to the interpretation of her work. Based on comprehensive textual evidence, he can instead show that this has important conceptual implications which shed a completely new light on the basic aspects of her overall theoretical outlook. Emphasising the procedural grounding of her understanding of democracy, it thus presents a major challenge to many widely held beliefs about Arendts work and an irresistible invitation to reinvestigate the foundations, promises and prospects of radical politics. Rainer Schmalz-Bruns, Leibniz University of Hanover

Reviews

...the book is a great success. Through an incredibly rich and knowledgeable interpretation of Arendt's work, Volk offers new perspectives on her concepts of law and politics, and develops a distinctive approach for thinking about legitimacy and democracy today. -- Dana Schmalz * International Journal of Constitutional Law *
Overall, this is an excellent, thoughtful and detailed engagement with Arendts work that will become a clear point of reference for those who wish to understand her work on the state and legality and who then wish to deploy it to analyse contemporary global politics. -- Christopher May, Lancaster University * Political Studies Review *
In perhaps the most ambitious book on Hannah Arendt to appear in recent years, Christian Volk presents an Arendt of our times. -- Rodrigo Chacon * The English Historical Review *
This well-written volume has a clear structure and gives the reader a rich and innovative interpretation of Arendt's political and constitutional theory. -- Daniel Schulz, Technical University Dresden * Constellations *

Author Bio

Christian Volk is an Assistant Professor of Political Theory and the History of Ideas at the University of Trier.