Series

Textbook series for sociology students at universities and colleges The volumes in this series introduce the central research areas, theories and methods of sociology in an academically sound manner and in understandable language, and convey the field’s basic study contents for prospective sociologists. The consistent focus on problems and the didactic preparation of the volumes’ individual chapters facilitate access to their specialist content. The series is ideally suited to exam preparation, e.g. through summaries, knowledge and comprehension questions as well as diagrams and thematic cross-references.

Otto Kirchheimer’s (1905–1965) multifaceted academic works reflect the political and scientific experiences and conflicts of the Weimar Republic and National Socialism, his exile in France and the USA as well as the establishment of the two German states after 1945 in a virtually unique way. Many of Kirchheimer’s studies, such as those on the crisis in the Weimar Republic, his description of the structure of social compromise during the time of National Socialism, the genealogy of modern practices of administering punishment, his analyses of political justice or his theses on the development of parliamentarianism and party systems in modern Western democracies, have by now become historical documents themselves. This edition of his collected works comprises six volumes, each of which opens with a detailed introduction by its editor or editors, and is part of a research project supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). It will appeal to scholars and students of political science, law, German history, criminology and sociology.