A partir de dezenove textos publicados por Otto Kirchheimer no período final da República de Weimar, o presente trabalho investiga as possibilidades oferecidas por uma forma específica de organização política o Estado Constitucional Parlamentar para a realização da democracia e, ao mesmo tempo, para a promoção de transformações sociais. Amálgama inconstante entre a crítica de Carl Schmitt às instituições liberais e a crítica marxista da sociedade, a obra weimariana de Kirchheimer apresenta uma análise instigante do ordenamento jurídico e da realidade histórica na qual ele está inserido. Constituição, Estado Parlamentar, separação de poderes e a legitimidade de diferentes meios de ação política são alguns dos temas abordados. O trabalho discute, assim, uma importante ruptura teórica na obra de Kirchheimer nesse período: o progressivo reconhecimento de que o direito pode e deve servir como limitador do poder político, garantindo certo conteúdo mínimo de liberdade. Das falhas no funcionamento do Parlamento e das instituições da democracia formal passa a decorrer, para ele, a necessidade de aperfeiçoá-los e não mais de rejeitá-los. / Based on nineteen texts written by Otto Kirchheimer during the final period of the Weimar Republic, the present work wishes to investigate the possibilities opened by a specific form of political organization the Parliamentary Constitutional State for the implementation of democracy and, at the same time, for the promotion of social change. Shifting combination of Carl Schmitt criticism of liberal institutions and Marxist criticism of society, the weimarian work of Kirchheimer offers a compelling analysis of the legal system and the historical reality in which it inheres. Constitution, Parliamentary State, separation of powers, and the legitimacy of different ways of political actions are some of his main themes. We detect, then, an important cleavage appearing in the writings of Kirchheimer during this period: his progressive conscience that the legal system can and should serve as a counterweight to political power, in order to guarantee a minimum of liberties. From the deficiencies detected in the working of Parliament and, more generally, of democratic institutions, he now arrives at the necessity of enhancing them not anymore of rejecting them.

A partir de dezenove textos publicados por Otto Kirchheimer no período final da República de Weimar, o presente trabalho investiga as possibilidades oferecidas por uma forma específica de organização política o Estado Constitucional Parlamentar para a realização da democracia e, ao mesmo tempo, para a promoção de transformações sociais. Amálgama inconstante entre a crítica de Carl Schmitt às instituições liberais e a crítica marxista da sociedade, a obra weimariana de Kirchheimer apresenta uma análise instigante do ordenamento jurídico e da realidade histórica na qual ele está inserido. Constituição, Estado Parlamentar, separação de poderes e a legitimidade de diferentes meios de ação política são alguns dos temas abordados. O trabalho discute, assim, uma importante ruptura teórica na obra de Kirchheimer nesse período: o progressivo reconhecimento de que o direito pode e deve servir como limitador do poder político, garantindo certo conteúdo mínimo de liberdade. Das falhas no funcionamento do Parlamento e das instituições da democracia formal passa a decorrer, para ele, a necessidade de aperfeiçoá-los e não mais de rejeitá-los. / Based on nineteen texts written by Otto Kirchheimer during the final period of the Weimar Republic, the present work wishes to investigate the possibilities opened by a specific form of political organization the Parliamentary Constitutional State for the implementation of democracy and, at the same time, for the promotion of social change. Shifting combination of Carl Schmitt criticism of liberal institutions and Marxist criticism of society, the weimarian work of Kirchheimer offers a compelling analysis of the legal system and the historical reality in which it inheres. Constitution, Parliamentary State, separation of powers, and the legitimacy of different ways of political actions are some of his main themes. We detect, then, an important cleavage appearing in the writings of Kirchheimer during this period: his progressive conscience that the legal system can and should serve as a counterweight to political power, in order to guarantee a minimum of liberties. From the deficiencies detected in the working of Parliament and, more generally, of democratic institutions, he now arrives at the necessity of enhancing them not anymore of rejecting them.

This thesis concerns the Czechoslovak Social Democracy in the 1930's and 1940's. Its aim is to investigate whether the Social Democratic Party in the Third Republic moved from a mass party towards being a catch-all party. It investigates whether the move was in line with Otto Kirchheimer's theory. The thesis is divided into four parts. The first part is theoretically orientated. It analyzes how and why there was a move from a mass party towards a catch-all party. It also contains in which areas the change occured and how it occured. The second part focuses on whether the Social Democratic Party in the First Republic can be considered in the typology of political parties as a mass party. There is a conclusion that we can call it a mass party. The third part analyzes if the Social Democratic Party in the Third Republic moved from being a mass party to a catch-all party. The conclusion is that this happened. The final part is dedicated to whether the Social Democratic Party in the Third Republic moved closer to being a catch-all party in line with Otto Kirchheimer's theory. This part concludes that it was in line with this theory.