The Dilemma of the Early German Liberalism. Karl Von Rotteck and the Constitution of Cadiz

Abstract

The Freiburg law professor and leader of the Liberal opposition in the Landtag of the Grand Duchy of Baden Karl von Rotteck discussed the constitution of Cadiz in five of his publications between 1820 and 1839. He was at all times kindly disposed towards it, disapproving of only a small number of different provisions at different times, as his political thought developed over the years. While he thus came to regard the constitution as a political model, his dualistic concept of the state prevented any kind of practical implementation of its key principles to result from his theoretical reasoning. According to Rotteck, in a constitutional monarchy the representatives of the people stood in opposition to the government and had to restrict themselves to voicing “true” principles rather than developing political strategies to put them into practice. Whatever their enthusiasm for the “ideas of 1789” and consequently for the Cadiz constitution, the complete absence of practical political concepts led Rotteck and early German liberalism as a whole to defer all political action to the government and thus to fail as a viable political opposition. The notion of actively embracing the role of a political party and striving for political leadership in a parliamentary monarchy would not yet at this point become part of the Liberal agenda in Germany.

Fecha de envío / Submission Date: 4/05/2012

Fecha de aceptación / Acceptance Date: 16/05/2012