Carl Schmitt's political and legal theory has been subject to criticism by Chinese scholars. One of the criticisms is based on the judgment that there are uncomfortable similarities between Schmitt's and Mao's theories. Due to the similarities between Schmitt and Mao, many Chinese scholars argue that it is morally wrong to rely on Schmitt's political theory in contemporary China.
In contrast to this view, this book develops a new way of reading and benefiting from Schmitt's legal and political theories. It explores Schmitt's theories from the perspective of what Zheng refers to as 'the politics of transition'. This book shows that Schmitt's theory can be beneficial for filling in the details of the politics of transition.

Carl Schmitt, Mao Zedong and the Politics of Transition also contributes to identifying the real theoretical relationship between Schmitt and Mao from the perspective of the politics of transition. It shows that although there are some similarities between Schmitt's and Mao's theories, there are fundamental differences as well.