Article
Polity (2005) 37, 24–53. doi:10.1057/palgrave.polity.2300001
American Kingship? Monarchical Origins of Modern Presidentialism*
William E. Scheuerman is the author of Liberal Democracy and the Social Acceleration of Time (2004), Carl Schmitt: The End of Law (1999), and Between the Norm and the Exception: The Frankfurt School and the Rule of Law (1994). He teaches political and legal theory at the University of Minnesota and can be reached at scheuerm@polisci.umn.edu.
William E Scheuerman1
1University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
*I am grateful to an unnamed critical reviewer at Polity, as well as Andrew Arato at the New School, for helpful criticisms of an earlier version of this essay.
Abstract
The modern obsession with executive charisma, especially in the context of the presidentialist variety of liberal democracy, is commonplace. This obsession derives from the oftentimes overlooked monarchical origins of the modern presidential executive. The presidential executive is outfitted with some of the awesome powers of European kingship, but it is no longer able to justify those powers on the basis of traditional religious ideas. Charisma serves as a functional replacement for religiously inspired ideas of divine monarchy. Special attention is paid to the role of Alexander Hamilton in the transformation of traditional monarchist political theory into the theoretical underpinnings of the American presidency.
Keywords:
executive power, Alexander Hamilton, liberalism, monarchy, prerogative
