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State, Movement, People: The Tripartite Structure of Political Unity

by Carl Schmitt

Translated, Edited, and Introduced by Joseph W. Bendersky
With a Preface by David Pan

Written in 1933, State, Movement, People presents Carl Schmitt’s controversial attempt to explain the political and legal order of the emerging Third Reich. Schmitt examines the relationship between state (Staat), party (Bewegung), and people (Volk), as well as the Führer principle and the concept of racial identity in his attempt to provide a theoretical and constitutional framework for National Socialism, which was, however, rejected by the Nazis. This new critical edition, translated and introduced by Joseph W. Bendersky, examines Schmitt’s transition from conservative opponent of Hitler’s rise to collaborator with the new regime. Drawing on archival evidence and Schmitt’s personal papers, Bendersky illuminates how Schmitt gradually adopted many radical concepts of the Nazis while attempting to preserve as much of traditional society and institutions as possible under the constraints of Nazi dictatorial power.

Scholarly Responses to This Critical Edition

“Carl Schmitt’s State, Movement, People, first published in 1933, the year Hitler came to power, and translated here for the first time, shows Schmitt grappling with the reality of the Nazi state and its core concepts: the tension between the state and the party, and the overarching status of the Leader, the Führer. Schmitt’s account also explains the polycratic character of the regime, the competition among alternative power bases, which is crucial for theories of totalitarianism. It is in this book too that Schmitt develops his notorious notion of homogeneity, shedding uncanny light on today’s debates about immigration and political instability.

“State, Movement, People is indispensable reading to understand the transition from democracy to dictatorship everywhere. It also demonstrates the specific nuances of German history at a moment when conservative concepts could still compete with the Nazi revolution. David Pan’s preface explains what is at stake in terms of political theory, while Joseph W. Bendersky’s extensive introduction tracks the political and jurisprudential transition that brought Hitler to power. Bendersky also evaluates the thesis of Schmitt’s personal opportunism and the character of his antisemitism. In order to understand how democracies die, this document offers invaluable insight.”
—Russell A. Berman, Walter A. Haas Professor in the Humanities, Stanford University, and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution

“Prepared by Professor Joseph W. Bendersky—one of the foremost authorities on Carl Schmitt’s thought and historical milieu—this critical edition makes State, Movement, People available in a form commensurate with the highest scholarly standards. A pivotal work from Schmitt’s National Socialist period, the treatise is illuminated by extensive annotations and an erudite, incisive introduction, which locate both text and thinker securely within the turbulent and complex circumstances surrounding Hitler’s accession to power. Through a close examination of the subtleties of Schmitt’s arguments, the evidence contained in his diaries, and the shifting relations between conservative circles and the newly installed regime, Bendersky demonstrates convincingly that the jurist’s position toward National Socialism was considerably more intricate than conventional accounts suggest.”
—Hugo Herrera, Facultad de Derecho, Universidad Diego Portales, author of Carl Schmitt between Technological Rationality and Theology and Carl Schmitt als politischer Philosoph

Contents

Preface
David Pan

Introduction:
A Conservative Negotiates the Early Third Reich: Carl Schmitt’s State, Movement, People in Historical and Evidentiary Context
Joseph W. Bendersky

Note on the Translation of Terminology

State, Movement, People: The Tripartite Structure of Political Unity
Carl Schmitt

I. The Contemporary Constitutional Situation

II. The Tripartite Structure of Political Unity

III. The Dualistic State Structure of Liberal Democracy and the German Civil Service State

IV. The Leadership Principle [Führertum] and Racial Identity [Artgleichheit] as Fundamental Concepts of National Socialist Law

Bibliographical References

ISBN 978-0-914386-92-6 (paperback) • 978-0-914386-93-3 (ebook)
$21.95 | Paperback | 174 pages
Pub. date: November 1, 2026