Tocqueville on “Napoleon”: A Study of a New Type of ‘Dictator’ in Democracy

• In Event: Fragile Liberties: Tocqueville, Rousseau, and the Predicates of Self-determination

Brief Overview

Tocqueville pointed to the despotism of the executive as a threat to democracy. However, he would imply the possibility of the rule of a single dictator through the consideration of Napoleon and the Empire. This is the hypothesis of this paper.

Author

• Yuji Takayama, Meiji University