Robert Sanderson (1587–1663)

Over the course of the reigns of the last two Tudors and first three Stuarts – just in excess of a century – the national established Church of England was disestablished twice and re-established twice. Following the return to Rome under Mary, Elizabeth's settlement re-established the English Church under the royal supremacy, set down church doctrine and liturgy, embarked on a reform of canon law and so consolidated an ecclesial polity which many today see as an Anglican via media between papal Rome and Calvinist Geneva. However, as a compromise, the settlement contained in itself seeds of discord: it outlawed Roman reconciliation and recusancy; it extended lay and clerical discipline by the use of ecclesiastical commissioners; and it drove Puritans to agitate for reform on Presbyterian lines. While James I continued Elizabeth's policy, disappointing both Puritans and Papists, Charles I married a Roman Catholic, sought to impose a prayer book on Calvinist Scotland, asserted divine-right monarchy, engaged in an 11-year personal rule without Parliament and favoured Arminian clergy. With these and other disputes between Crown and Parliament, civil war ensued, a directory of worship replaced the prayer book, episcopacy and monarchy were abolished and a Puritan-style republic was instituted. The republic failed, and in 1660 monarchy was restored, the Church of England was re-established and a limited form of religious toleration was introduced under the Clarendon Code. In all these upheavals, understandings of the nature, source and authority of human law, civil and ecclesiastical, were the subject of claim and counter-claim. Enter Robert Sanderson: a life begun under Elizabeth and ended under Charles II, a protagonist who felt the burdens and benefits of the age, Professor of Divinity at Oxford and later Bishop of Lincoln, and a clerical-jurist who thought deeply on the nature of human law and its place in a cosmic legal order – so much so, he may be compared with three of his great contemporaries: the lawyer Matthew Hale (1609–1676), the cleric Jeremy Taylor (1613–1667) and the philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588–1678).

Chad

Chadians have experienced harsh governance and personal rule since colonization. Between independence in 1960 and the coup d’état in 1990 that brought President Déby to power, violent conflicts, and civil war continuously characterized life and politics in Chad. The political opening of the early 1990s under Déby, however, raised hopes among the populace. Yet the creation of more than one hundred new political parties did not change much in people’s lives or standards of living, resulting in a collective sense of aspirational deprivation, under the electoral authoritarian regime that resulted. Oil extraction starting in 2003 increased the sense of deprivation as the sudden wealth of some made inequality even more visible. Due to Chad’s geopolitical location, the regime’s firm fight against Islamic terror, and its natural resources, various outside powers are keen to maintain the country’s political stability, seemingly even at the price of tolerating the regime’s meager human rights record and internal political repressions.

Constitutionalism and Developmental Authoritarianism

This chapter contributes to the debate about ‘presidents for life’ in sub-Saharan Africa. Through an analysis of Paul Kagame’s leadership in Rwanda, it seeks to understand the legitimizing factors that could explain the resilience of personalized authoritarian regimes and the extent to which these factors undermine constitutionalism and democracy. The first part of the chapter examines the phenomena of personal rule and power legitimation in sub-Saharan Africa and how they were impacted on by colonial rule, independence, ‘democracy’s third wave’, and the more recent period of ‘democratic recession’. The second part appraises the case of Rwanda through the three prisms of history, power, and law. First, it is argued, the legitimacy of the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) stems from the fact that it ended the genocide. Second, the RPF is seen as effecting a ‘miracle’ by transforming a devastated country into one where real socio-economic gains were made. Finally, the authoritarian tendencies which have minimized opposition to the regime are not openly contested, neither internally nor externally. With the emphasis on national unity, the RPF is portrayed as being a non-negotiable pre-condition for political stability and prosperity, thus condoning any democratic deficits.

El camino a Carlos II. Haro, Felipe IV y la restauración del gobierno personal en España = The Road to Carlos II. Haro, Felipe IV and the Restoration of Personal Government in Spain

La relación entre España y Francia a partir de 1661 revistió un interés particular a causa de la confluencia de dos fenómenos: el fin de la hegemonía hispánica y la extinción del valimiento en ambas coronas. Esto último dio paso al restablecimiento del gobierno personal, primero en Francia, en marzo de aquel año, y luego en España, en noviembre. En el caso español, menos conocido que el francés, Felipe IV llevó a cabo esta restauración no solo, ni principalmente, por la necesidad de emular a su sobrino Luis XIV, sino, recurriendo a la tradición de su propia historia y dinastía, con el objetivo de incluir este modo de gobierno en el legado del futuro Carlos II, consciente de que la persistencia del valimiento en España con un rey niño haría inviable la Monarquía.AbstractThe relationship between Spain and France from 1661 has a particular interest owing to the coincidence of two political phenomena: the end of the Hispanic hegemony and the abolition of the favouritism in both countries –and consequently the restauration of the personal rule, first in France, in March 1661, and then in Spain, in November. The Spanish case is less known but is very interesting. Philip IV decided to restore the absolute government not only to emulate his nephew Louis XIV, but above all to guide the future rule of his son, Crown Prince Charles, according to the historical tradition of the Habsburg dynasty. The ultimate goal of Philip IV was to avoid the weakening or even the disappearance of the Spanish Monarchy during the Royal minority of Charles II –a four-year-old child in 1665.

Autocratisation by Term Limits Manipulation in Sub-Saharan Africa

Besides the introduction of multi-party elections, the sub-Saharan wave of democratic reforms of the 1990s encompassed the introduction of limits to the number of terms that a chief executive can serve. Executive term limits (ETLs) are key for democracy to advance in a continent with a legacy of personal rule. However, the manipulation of ETLs has become a recurring mode of autocratisation, through which African aspiring over-stayers weaken executive constraints, taint political competition, and limit citizens’ possibility to choose who governs. This article presents a three-phase model of autocratisation by ETL manipulation and, using new data, offers one of the first regional comparative studies of ETL manipulation in sub-Saharan Africa that rests on econometric modelling. The analysis leads to revisiting some previous findings on the drivers of ETL manipulation and highlights the relevance of other previously underestimated factors that may either discourage a leader from challenging ETLs or prevent their successful manipulation.

“Repeated sampling from the same population?” A critique of Neyman and Pearson’s responses to Fisher.

Fisher (1945a, 1945b, 1955, 1956, 1960) criticised the Neyman-Pearson approach to hypothesis testing by arguing that it relies on the assumption of “repeated sampling from the same population.” The present article considers the responses to this criticism provided by Pearson (1947) and Neyman (1977). Pearson interpreted alpha levels in relation to imaginary replications of the original test. This interpretation is appropriate when test users are sure that their replications will be equivalent to one another. However, by definition, scientific researchers do not possess sufficient knowledge about the relevant and irrelevant aspects of their tests and populations to be sure that their replications will be equivalent to one another. Pearson also interpreted the alpha level as a personal rule that guides researchers’ behavior during hypothesis testing. However, this interpretation fails to acknowledge that the same researcher may use different alpha levels in different testing situations. Addressing this problem, Neyman proposed that the average alpha level adopted by a particular researcher can be viewed as an indicator of that researcher’s typical Type I error rate. Researchers’ average alpha levels may be informative from a metascientific perspective. However, they are not useful from a scientific perspective. Scientists are more concerned with the error rates of specific tests of specific hypotheses, rather than the error rates of their colleagues. It is concluded that neither Neyman nor Pearson adequately rebutted Fisher’s “repeated sampling” criticism. Fisher’s significance testing approach is briefly considered as an alternative to the Neyman-Pearson approach.

Faction, Rhetoric, and Ideology

From his appointment as principal secretary to Elizabeth I in 1573, Sir Francis Walsingham was instrumental in every sphere of English diplomacy. He was particularly interested in maintaining friendly relations with Scotland, though this was complicated by his suspicions of individual Scots, especially the king, James VI, who embarked on his personal rule after the execution of the last regent in 1581. Walsingham’s keen interest in Anglo-Scottish diplomacy was partly occasioned by his office, but more importantly by his own concerns about the implications a weak or hostile Scotland would have for England. His extensive network of contacts among both English and Scottish diplomatic personnel enabled him to exert influence over this area of policy. Walsingham’s view of Scotland and his preferred policy drew him into conflict with other members of Elizabeth’s government, who espoused a different policy and outlook and had their own networks of influence. Using particularly the acrimonious falling out between Walsingham and another privy councillor, Lord Hunsdon, over Scottish policy in 1584, this essay analyzes the influence of personalities, political allegiances, and ideological factors on the formation and implementation of England’s Scottish policy.