2005/01/01 by William E. Scheuerman · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #American Constitutional Law and Politics #Charisma #Context (archaeology) #Democracy #Epistemology #History #Law #Monarchy #Philosophy #Political science #Politics #Presidency #Presidential system
paper · doi:10.1057/palgrave.polity.2300001
openalex publication_date 2005/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
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.