The “benign prerogative
Political theory and executive pardoning
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6446037 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Isabelle Thelen (0009-0005-6206-3036, Political Science Department Baylor University Waco Texas USA, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 55 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 19-33 |
| Publication date | 2024-11-28 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Presidential Studies Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0360-4918 • E-ISSN: 1741-5705 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/psq.12895 |
| OpenAlex | W4404826884 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 28 |
This article examines pardon to develop a more holistic understanding of prerogative. Executive prerogative, the power to do what is necessary for the public good without the explicit sanction of the law and sometimes against it, is widely seen as an extraordinary power most relevant in times of crisis. Pardon, however, has been historically understood as an important example of prerogative. Even in times of political stability, pardon and therefore prerogative are nearly always needed to maintain rule of law because pardon preserves the reputation of the law. American political practice and political theory both indicate that pardon is less dangerous to rule of law than other forms of prerogative. My analysis of the pardon prerogative reveals that exercises of prerogative threaten to entirely displace rule of law only insofar as they can achieve something without rule of law that rule of law normally achieves
Economics · Executive branch · Executive power · Law and economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Prerogative · Sociology · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Law · Political Philosophy and Ethics · Political Theory and Influence · Public Administration
The Federalist
The Cloaking of Power
The Adams-Jefferson Letters
The Papers of Thomas Jefferson
Republican Manners, Monarchic Vigor
The Law
The Law
President Trump's Clemency Record
Executive Prerogative and the “Good Officer” in Thomas Jefferson's Letter to John B. Colvin
Executive Clemency or Bureaucratic Discretion? Two Models of the Pardons Process
The Law
Constitutionalized Prerogative and the Pardon Power
As Far as Republican Principles Will Admit
Common Law and Liberal Theory
Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787
Inventing the American Presidency
The Relative Influence of European Writers on Late Eighteenth-Century American Political Thought
John Locke & the Limits of Presidential Prerogative
I. Democracy and the Welfare State
The Politics of Liberty in England and Revolutionary America
Locke on Executive Power and Liberal Constitutionalism
Constitutionalism and Presidential Prerogative
Can the Prince Really Be Tamed? Executive Prerogative, Popular Apathy, and the Constitutional Frame in Locke'sSecond Treatise
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |