Introduction

Summary

The introductory chapter places Statute and Judgment and The Value of the State and the Significance of the Individual of the Individual in the context of Schmitt’s political and constitutional theory. It illustrates how certain key themes emerging in Schmitt’s early legal-theoretical writings – in particular, the problem of the realization of law – drive the development of Schmitt’s political and constitutional theory. The chapter also offers discussion of the intellectual and biographical background to Schmitt’s early legal-theoretical works.