Taming the Prince: The Ambivalence of Modern Executive Power - Softcover

Mansfield Jr., Professor Harvey C.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0801845890 ISBN 13: 9780801845895

Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993

Synopsis

This survey of Western political thought ranges from Aristotle to "The Federalist Papers", showing how the doctrine of executive power arose and how it has developed to the present day. Although there were various "proto-executives", from Roman dictators to Christian kings, the modern executive first appears with Machiavelli's "The Prince". Yet Machiavelli's strong - even cruel - leader undermines republican theory. Subsequent philosophers, Mansfield argues, seized upon the Prince and transformed him into the American president. Liberalized by Locke, constitutionalized by Montesquieu, Machiavelli's bloodthirsty executive was finally "tamed" by channelling his antinomian energies into a uniquely flexible constitutional framework.

About this title

Review:

"A dazzling and essential book. Mansfield brings the excitement and tension of a mystery story to this investigation of the executive -- the most important and at the same time the most banal notion of modern politics." -- Allan Bloom, University of Chicago

About this edition

• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0801845890
• ISBN 13: 9780801845895
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 392