Nazi Germany and the Prerogative State

Ernest Fraenkel's book examines the legal structures of Nazi Germany, arguing that the regime maintained both ordinary, normative law and a separate prerogative legal order which allowed the state to act outside conventional legal constraints.

Fraenkel analyzes how this dual system enabled the government to carry out authoritarian policies while preserving a veneer of legality.

The work explores institutional dynamics, bureaucratic practices, and the role of legal professionals in facilitating or resisting prerogative power.

It has become a foundational text for scholars studying law under authoritarian regimes and the erosion of legal norms.

Fraenkel's analysis is frequently invoked in contemporary discussions about how legal institutions can be co-opted when checks on executive power fail.