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Loewenstein's "Political Power and the Governmental Process" is a classic of German constitutional theory on a par with the work of Jellinek, Kelsen, Schmitt, Smend and Heller. As a Max Weber scholar, and both social scientist and legal expert on constitutional matters, Loewenstein opened up the analysis of the constitution in the Weimar period from its base of "Rechtspositivismus" to include political science. In 1933 Loewenstein, a proponent of democracy and Jew, left Nazi-Germany and emigrated to the USA. Subsequently, whilst working as a legal advisor to several US-Government agencies, he developed a modern constitutional theory ("Verfassungslehre") based on the control of political power in pluralist society and thus - alongside Ernst Fraenkel- became one of the major advocates of neopluralist political theory in postwar German thought. Despite a close attachment to positivism and constructivism his integrative understanding of political science belongs to a tradition whose rediscovery is long overdue. Adapted from the source document.

Although the concept of "integration" is widely discussed in Germany, few know that it can be traced back to Rudolf Smend's constitutional theory ("Integrationslehre"). Smend's concept is an antipluralistic & antiparliamentarian political theory. His axiomatic premise is not a pluralistic society but -- as in Carl Schmitt's political theology -- a homogeneous political unity ("Staat" & "Volk"). However, popular demand for "integration" of immigrants as a precondition for political rights is not only a useless instrument in the fight against xenophobia but rather an expression of it. Only a democratically legitimized constitution can be the basis for the "political unity" of a society -- an old idea which has been discussed from Aristotle until 20th-century political theory. Therefore, the right to vote is everyone's right. 99 References. Adapted from the source document.

In his work politische Religionen Voegelin presented a theory of totalitarianism in 1938 which, since the nineties, has been rediscovered & discussed. His thesis is that totalitarianism is a symptom of decline as a consequence of the loss of transcendental experience in modern times. Instead of this, totalitarian religious surrogates are created seeking salvation in the world. The article shows that Voegelin developed his theory based on the background of the controversy of constitutional theory between Hans Kelsen & Carl Schmitt. Kelsen's positivistic criticism unmasks Left & Right collectivism as forms of "political theology"; & Schmitt criticizes that Kelsen himself is also a "political theologian." Voegelin drew the conclusion that both positivism & political theology are typical forms of "political religion" with totalitarian implications. Totalitarianism is therefore not an interruption of civilization but an expression of modern politics. Adapted from the source document.

Dieses politikwissenschaftliche Standardwerk unterzieht Stellung und Funktion des Bundesverfassungsgerichts im Spannungsfeld von Politik und Recht einer umfassenden sozial- und rechtwissenschaftlichen Analyse. Vollständig überarbeitet und aktualisiert, bietet die dritte Auflage wissenschaftlich fundierte Einblicke in den politischen Prozess und die (rechts-)politischen Implikationen der Verfassungsrechtsprechung. Dabei werden theoretische Grundfragen der Verfassungsgerichtsbarkeit, methodische Zugänge der Analyse, vergleichende Bezüge und die historischen Entwicklungen miteinbezogen. Die dritte Auflage beinhaltet mehr als 65 Beiträge und ist als Reference-Handbuch konzipiert.