Within Germany, Carl Schmitt's status as a political thinker is on a par with Machiavelli and Hobbes. With the rise in neo-conservatism and authoritarian liberalism in less developed countries such as Chile and Singapore, Schmitt's theories will become of incredible importance. Carl Schmitt had close links with the Weimar Republic and its successor the Nazi Third Reich. His political theories give a valuable insight into the nature of Conservatism. As with all the titles in the Political Philosophy Now Series, the author takes previous political thought and applies to the modern day and extrapolates possibilities for the future. Renato Christi, in his final chapter, also compares Schmitt's theories with those of Hobbes, Hegel and Hayek.

The theories of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel are explored in this look at his conception of an ideal civil society. A conservative authoritarian, Hegel endorsed a market economy that was counterbalanced by an authoritarian prince who acted as protector of the constitution. Though these two concepts seem contradictory, the text suggests that Hegel purposefully contrasts freedom and authority in order to intensify their opposition to the highest degree. His prediction that opposite extremes will bring forth reconciliation makes this treatise the first full-blown modern liberal authoritarian manifesto.