Carl Schmitt (1888-1985) continues to be a polarizing figure. Admired by conservatives for his analytical clarity and rhetorical brilliance, the constitutional lawyer and theorist of sovereign power is viewed by his opponents as an opportunistic sycophant and the chief legal advisor of the National Socialists. It is certainly not an exaggeration to describe Schmitt as the most influential German jurist of the 20th century. Reinhard Mehring introduces Schmitt's work, elaborates on his role in the Weimar Republic and National Socialism, and takes a look at "Carl Schmitt after 1945," as well as the debates surrounding him by students and critics.