diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 8a82471..05aadbb 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -6,6 +6,14 @@ cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.3)
 project(cppast VERSION 0.0)
 
 # options
+if(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE MATCHES Debug)
+    set(default_assertions ON)
+else()
+    set(default_assertions OFF)
+endif()
+option(CPPAST_ENABLE_ASSERTIONS "whether or not to enable internal assertions for the cppast library" ${default_assertions})
+option(CPPAST_ENABLE_PRECONDITION_CHECKS "whether or not to enable precondition checks" ON)
+
 option(CPPAST_BUILD_TEST "whether or not to build the tests" ON)
 
 include(external/external.cmake)
diff --git a/include/cppast/detail/assert.hpp b/include/cppast/detail/assert.hpp
index 1093b6e..7af9903 100644
--- a/include/cppast/detail/assert.hpp
+++ b/include/cppast/detail/assert.hpp
@@ -7,15 +7,28 @@
 
 #include <debug_assert.hpp>
 
+#ifdef CPPAST_ENABLE_ASSERTIONS
+#define CPPAST_ASSERTION_LEVEL 1
+#else
+#define CPPAST_ASSERTION_LEVEL 0
+#endif
+
+#ifdef CPPAST_ENABLE_PRECONDITION_CHECKS
+#define CPPAST_PRECONDITION_LEVEL 1
+#else
+#define CPPAST_PRECONDITION_LEVEL 0
+#endif
+
 namespace cppast
 {
     namespace detail
     {
-        struct assert_handler : debug_assert::set_level<1>, debug_assert::default_handler
+        struct assert_handler : debug_assert::set_level<CPPAST_ASSERTION_LEVEL>,
+                                debug_assert::default_handler
         {
         };
 
-        struct precondition_error_handler : debug_assert::set_level<1>,
+        struct precondition_error_handler : debug_assert::set_level<CPPAST_PRECONDITION_LEVEL>,
                                             debug_assert::default_handler
         {
         };
diff --git a/src/CMakeLists.txt b/src/CMakeLists.txt
index 5114b03..119dc90 100644
--- a/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -101,4 +101,10 @@ target_compile_definitions(cppast PUBLIC
                                 CPPAST_LIBCLANG_SYSTEM_INCLUDE_DIR="${LIBCLANG_SYSTEM_INCLUDE_DIR}"
                                 CPPAST_CLANG_BINARY="${CLANG_BINARY}"
                                 CPPAST_CLANG_VERSION_STRING="${LLVM_VERSION}")
+if(CPPAST_ENABLE_ASSERTIONS)
+    target_compile_definitions(cppast PUBLIC CPPAST_ENABLE_ASSERTIONS)
+endif()
+if(CPPAST_ENABLE_PRECONDITION_CHECKS)
+    target_compile_definitions(cppast PUBLIC CPPAST_ENABLE_PRECONDITION_CHECKS)
+endif()
 set_target_properties(cppast PROPERTIES CXX_STANDARD 11)