Carl Schmitt’s "Constitutional Theory" (1928) analyzed the tension between democratic and liberal "Rechtsstaat" elements in modern government, particularly the Weimar Constitution. He argued for a strong, decisive state, defining sovereignty by the power to decide the state of exception (Political Theology). Schmitt contrasted commissary dictatorship, intended for restoring order (Art. 48), with sovereign dictatorship, which aims to create a new constitution. This work fundamentally challenged purely normative legal theories.