Abstract
ABSTRACT This paper considers the applicability and history of the concept of despotism as a critical model of political power. In spite of its 'Orientalist' pedigree, critical perusal of the work of Montesquieu (and, secondarily, Tocqueville) reveals that the concept has also functioned as a critical ‘pure type’ that is feasibly applicable not just to all societies but perhaps especially to the West. As such, despotism has arguably been more of a satirical – or ‘inverted’ – concept than straightforwardly an empirical one.
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