State Composition and Collapse of the Second Reich

The Victory of the Bourgeois Citizen over the Soldier
Newly published for the first time in English translation, Carl Schmitt’s 1934 tract, State Composition and Collapse of the Second Reich: The Victory of the Bourgeois Citizen over the Soldier, is an important addition to the corpus of Schmitt’s work in English. Written and published at the height of Carl Schmitt's entanglement with National Socialism, this work outlines Schmitt’s historical and propagandistic account of the collapse of the Second German Empire and of Germany’s defeat in the First World War and sets the stage for his account of what should come next. 

In this swiftly paced polemical history, Schmitt locates the roots of Germany’s defeat in the First World War in constitutional compromises between the Prussian soldier state and the liberal bourgeois citizenry forged in the course of the nineteenth century.  These compromises left unresolved the tension between liberal constitutionalism and an executive-led strong state built on military power, preventing the Reich from being able to mobilize German society in order to wage a successful war effort.  Schmitt’s account of how the Bismarckian Reich was undermined from within serves as a guide, in his view, for how the Nazi regime should avoid a similar fate.

A work of crisply riveting and, at times, haunting prose, Schmitt’s State Composition and Collapse of the Second Reich will be a source of persistent historical interest to all students of history, politics, Nazism, political thought and the First and Second World Wars.

Contributor: Samuel Garrett Zeitlin (Translated by)

Translator: Samuel Garrett Zeitlin

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.