> The dual state is a model in which the functioning of a state is divided into a **normative state**, which operates according to set rules and regulations, and a **prerogative state**, "which exercises unlimited arbitrariness and violence unchecked by any legal guarantees".
content
<replace me>
> It was invented by Ernst Fraenkel to describe the functioning of the Nazi state especially law in Nazi Germany, and described in his book *The Dual State: A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship*.
I'm inclined to combine this with Wilhoit's Law to produce a three-tiered system:
* Those with **prerogative** (can do anything, exempt from consequences).
* Those **protected** from the normative state. (They cannot mete out state violence, or have trouble doing so, but they can flout certain classes of law with impunity, such as financial or "white collar" crimes. The domain of rich people and the less active supporters of the prerogative state. Think kleptocrats.)
* Those subject to the laws of the **normative** state. (You and me, but see below.)
There are gradations, of course. As a relatively wealthy elderly well-spoken white man, I am protected from some state actions that a poorer, browner person would just have to suffer. I'm still subject to the normative state for most of my life, but I have some "Get Out of Jail Free" cards.
CC BY-NC-ND 3.0, JDWinkerman 
see also
"The Nazi Party: Law and Justice in the Third Reich" (Jewish Virtual Library)
Sondergericht ("special court") (Wikipedia)
support
<div style="text-align: center">How to Read — Other Ways to Browse</div>
<div style="text-align: center">Recent Changes –– Admin </div>