“[S]he does nothing else than transform our understanding of Schmitt.” — Andreas Kalyvas , Perspectives on Politics
“Without a doubt, Schmitt’s works are of interest to scholars from across the political spectrum and are clearly relevant to the discourse regarding liberalism and totalitarianism engendered by German émigrés such as Hannah Arendt and Leo Strauss.” — John Francis Burke, Perspectives on Political Science
"Constitutional Failure serves as an excellent starting point for further investigation and contextualization. . . . Kennedy['s] . . . comparative approach is both detailed and lucid, and any study on Schmitt's thought between 1933 and 1945 will be unable to avoid her discussion." — Christian J. Emden , H-German, H-Net Reviews
"[A]lthough the work is subtitled 'Carl Schmitt in Weimar,' it would be a mistake to categorize Constitutional Failure as just another study of Schmitt's political philosophy. Instead, following Schmitt's own understanding of how to do philosophy, Kennedy situates his ideas in a much larger political and historical context, showing us how and why Schmitt's work should be important to any student of constitutional government." — John E. Finn , Law and Politics Book Review
"[R]ich and complex. . . . Kennedy's analysis of Schmitt's work displays a thorough and impressive command of both the primary and secondary literature surrounding Schmitt, his contemporary colleagues and his critics. . . . [A] must for any graduate library." — Troy Paddock , History: Reviews of New Books
"Ellen Kennedy has long been acknowledged as one of the foremost interpreters of the writings of Carl Schmitt. . . . This book represents an ideal introduction to and engagement with the real complexities of Schmitt's thought, and seeks neither to demonize nor to offer apologia, but instead gives a fair-minded historical engagement based on the evidence available." — Duncan Kelly, Review of Politics
“Ellen Kennedy connects the theoretical and practical aspects of Schmitt’s writings in an unprecedented way. Scholars have endlessly speculated about the relationship between the ambiguous content of Schmitt’s thought and the undeniable facts surrounding his political actions: Kennedy is on much firmer ground than any other English-language scholar in bringing the two together.” — John P. McCormick, author of Carl Schmitt’s Critique of Liberalism: Against Politics as Technology
“Constitutional Failure provides a useful antidote for the talk dominant today of deliberative democracy, procedures, and dialogue, and so contributes in important ways to contemporary political theory as well as to an understanding of Carl Schmitt.” — David Dyzenhaus, editor of Law as Politics: Carl Schmitt’s Critique of Liberalism