An ‘ancient sense of politics’? Weber, Caesarism and the Republican tradition

Abstract

This article critically examines recent claims that Weber's political thought has close associations with classical republicanism. One salient indication of Weber's distance from this tradition is his theory of Ceasarism, and his view that modern polities are most robust when they assume a version of it consistent with civil liberties. By employing the resources of Begriffsgcschichte, I examine the extent of Weber's departure from the ‘ancient sense of politics’ and the originality of his own political theory.