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"Figgis sets his analysis in Europe beginning from the early Middle Ages, with how nobles would often elect fellows to act as king (lord of lords), and who were bound to the customary laws of the land. Through a series of theocratic power struggles originating in the Holy Roman Empire, and the transformation of being a king of a people to being king over a land, and the eventual resolution of those power struggles (in England), Figgis gives a thorough account of the development of Divine Right as it came to be stated by James VI. You will find a thoroughly researched work which traces step-by-step the evolution of DROK, taking the time to demonstrate the nuances of moral laws and adherence t...
This 1991 book was the first ever English rendition of the classic statement of divine right absolutism, published in 1707. Jacques-Benigne Bossuet argues in the Politics that a general society of the entire human race, governed by Christian charity, has given way (after the Fall) to the necessity of politcs, law, and absolute hereditary monarchy. That monarchy - seen as natural, universal and divinely ordained (beginning with David and Solomon) is defended in the first half of the book. The last part, added soon before Bossuet's death, goes on to take up the rights of the Church, the distinction between absolutism and arbitrariness, and causes of just war. Patrick Riley has provided full supporting materials including a chronology, guide to further reading, and a lucid introduction placing Bossuet in his historical and intellectual context.
The nature of leadership and the human qualities that promote or inhibit it have a long history in Western thought and remain a central concern in modern societies. Crises in leadership may arise from either human failings or social complexities that defeat or reject those most qualified to lead. While most contemporary political or social commentators on such crises tend to focus on external circumstances, David Cawthon examines classical thinkers from Plato to Nietzsche to offer a historical and philosophical perspective on the intrinsic qualities of leadership and how these qualities are coded into the souls of some, but not of others.
Annotation In this radical critique of the corporate economy--newly updated with information on Enron and other business scandals--the cofounder and editor of "Business Ethics" questions the legitimacy of a system that gives the wealthy few disproportionate power over the many
France and England are often seen as monarchies standing at opposite ends of the spectrum of seventeenth-century European political culture. On the one hand the Bourbon monarchy took the high road to absolutism, while on the other the Stuarts never quite recovered from the diminution of their royal authority following the regicide of Charles I in 1649. However, both monarchies shared a common medieval heritage of sacral kingship, and their histories remained deeply entangled throughout the century. This study focuses on the interaction between ideas of monarchy and images of power in the two countries between the execution of Mary Queen of Scots and the Glorious Revolution. It demonstrates that even in periods when politics were seemingly secularized, as in France at the end of the Wars of Religion, and in latter seventeenth- century England, the appeal to religious images and values still lent legitimacy to royal authority by emphasizing the sacral aura or providential role which church and religion conferred on monarchs.