Otto Kirchheimer Book order

The book features a collection of significant essays from the pre-Nazi era in Germany, exploring the potential for establishing a social democratic system during the Weimar Republic. It delves into the political climate and constitutional challenges faced by the first German Republic, providing insights into the aspirations and obstacles of that transformative period.

The book investigates how regimes manipulate criminal justice systems to serve political ends, focusing on the interplay between politics and justice. Kirchheimer systematically analyzes various forms of legal repression, including political trials and state protection structures. He examines significant historical examples like the Nuremberg trials and Communist purge trials, while also exploring the complexities of asylum and clemency. This work contributes to the fields of constitutional and criminal law, political science, and social psychology, highlighting the tension between justice and political expediency.