Carl Schmitt: Politics and Theory

(Hardback)

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Gottfried looks at Carl Schmitt as a critic of modern liberalism and as a defender of the national state who examined carefully Western historical and political traditions. Challenging the view that Schmitt was a mere polemicist who set out to subvert "German democracy", Gottfried's work argues instead, that Schmitt criticized liberalism and democracy from a highly reflective position that combined analytical depth with staggering erudition. The book shows that almost all of Schmitt's critics try to deflect the thrust of his observations by stressing his "unpleasant" political associations and allegedly hidden motives. This source also provides a bibliography on secondary literature dealing with Carl Schmitt's work. Gottfried's study addresses the major criticisms raised against Schmitt's understanding of politics. The book also underscores a point made by George Schwab and other recent biographers: that Schmitt made some of his strongest criticisms of liberal democracy while still a defender of the Weimar Republic. This book should appeal to anyone interested in German politics and to specialists in political theory and international relations.

Author Bio

PAUL EDWARD GOTTFRIED is Professor of Humanities at Elizabethtown College. He also served as Senior Editor of The World & I and has been a Guggenheim recipient. Gottfried has written over sixty articles for various journals and is the author of four books including Conservative Millenarians and The Search for Historical Meanings.