Law philosopher Giorgio Agamben, in his book Homo Sacer, traces the history of this measure throughout the history of law and sovereignty. His most disturbing case study concerns Nazi Germany. He writes:

It is well known that the last years of the Weimar Republic passed entirely under a regime of the state of exception; it is less obvious to note that Hitler could probably not have taken power had the country not been under a regime of presidential dictatorship for nearly three years and had parliament been functioning.