Popular Sovereignty and the Crisis of German Constitutional Law: The Theory and Practice of Weimar Constitutionalism...

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Peter C. Caldwell

Popular Sovereignty and the Crisis of German Constitutional Law

The Theory and Practice of Weimar Constitutionalism

Peter C. Caldwell

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English

Duke University Press
19 August 1997

History; European history; 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; Constitution: government & the state; Constitutional & administrative law

Popular Sovereignty and the Crisis of German Constitutional Law is a historical analysis of competing doctrines of constitutional law during the Weimar Republic. It chronicles the creation of a new constitutional jurisprudence both adequate to the needs of a modern welfare state and based on the principle of popular sovereignty. Peter C. Caldwell explores the legal nature of democracy as debated by Weimar's political theorists and constitutional lawyers. Laying the groundwork for questions about constitutional law in today's Federal Republic, this book draws clear and insightful distinctions between strands of positivist and anti-positivist legal thought, and examines their implications for legal and political theory. Caldwell makes accessible the rich literature in German constitutional thought of the Weimar period, most of which has been unavailable in English until now. On the liberal left, Hugo Preuss and Hans Kelsen defended a concept of democracy that made the constitution sovereign and, in a way, created the ""Volk"" through constitutional procedure. On the right, Carl Schmitt argued for a substantial notion of the ""Volk"" that could overrule constitutional procedure in a state of emergency. Rudolf Smend and Heinrich Triepel located in the constitution a set of inviolable values of the political community, while Hermann Heller saw in it a guarantee of substantial social equality. Drawing on the work of these major players from the 1920s, Caldwell reveals the various facets of the impassioned constitutional struggles that permeated German legal and political culture during the Weimar Republic.

By: Peter C. Caldwell
Imprint: Duke University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 152mm, Width: 229mm, Spine: 24mm
Weight: 594g
ISBN: 9780822319887
ISBN 10: 0822319888
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 19 August 1997
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Peter C. Caldwell is Associate Professor of History and German Studies at Rice University.

Reviews for Popular Sovereignty and the Crisis of German Constitutional Law: The Theory and Practice of Weimar Constitutionalism

""A searching examination and critical analysis of the debates in Germany over the meaning and interpretation of the constitution during the Weimar years. No other book in English, so far as I know, treats Weimar constitutionalism with the depth and analytical power of this study. What an admirable study of intellectual history this book is!"" - Donald P. Kommers, University of Notre Dame ""An outstanding contribution to the literature on 20th-century Germany and its political/legal theory."" - Ellen Kennedy, University of Pennsylvania