Book Reviews and Notices : Constitutional Dictatorship. BY CLINTON L. ROSSITER. (Princeton: Princeton University Press. 1948. Pp. ix, 332. $5.00.)
| DOI | 10.1177/106591294900200448 |
| Date | 01 December 1949 |
| Author | Daniel M. Ogden |
| Published date | 01 December 1949 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
665
Constitutional
Dictatorship.
BY
CLINTON
L.
ROSSITER.
(Princeton:
Prince-
ton
University
Press.
1948.
Pp.
ix,
332.
$5.00.)
This
book
is
a
carefully
documented
analysis
of
the
theory
and prac-
tice
of
crisis
government
in
Western
democracies.
Assuming
that
&dquo;the
complex
system
of
government
of
the
democratic,
constitutional
state
is
essentially
designed
to
function
under
normal,
peaceful
conditions,
and
is
often
unequal
to
the
exigencies
of
a
great
national
crisis,&dquo;
Mr.
Rossiter
pleads
that
&dquo;therefore,
in
time
of
crisis
a
democratic,
constitutional
gov-
ernment
must
be
temporarily
altered
to
whatever
degree
is
necessary
to
overcome
the
peril
and
restore
normal
conditions.&dquo;
The
result
is
&dquo;strong
government,
which
in
some
instances
might
become
an
outright
dictator-
ship.&dquo;
But
such
a
government
in
a
democracy
&dquo;can
have
no
other
pur-
poses
than
the
preservation
of
the
independence
of
the
state,
the
main-
tenance
of
the
existing
constitutional
order,
and
the
defense
of
the
poli-
tical
and
social
liberties
of
the
people.&dquo;
With
an
introductory
bow
to
Roman
practice
under
the
Republic,
Rossiter
surveys
in
turn
the
extent
to
which
Weimar
Germany,
France
under
the
Third
Republic,
Great
Britain,
and
the
United
States
have
been
willing
to
suspend
or
abbreviate
usual
constitutional
processes
in
order
to
save
the
principle
of
constitutional
democracy
in
times
of
war,
economic
depression,
or
civil
unrest.
For
each
nation
he
details
the
estab-
lished
processes
for
meeting
and
overcoming
crises,
then
recounts
the
practices
which
actually
were
followed,
particularly
since
1914.
His
analysis
leads
Mr.
Rossiter
to
advance
a
series
of
eleven
axioms
for
controlling
the
institution,
operation,
and
termination
of
constitu-
tional
dictatorship.
These
in
turn
lead
him
to
advance
six
provocative
suggestions
for
the
formal
recognition
of
the
office
of
President
as
being
in
fact
the
reservoir
of
constitutional
dictatorship
for
the
United
States
which
the
four
great
American
crises
have
led
him
to
believe
it
to
be.
His
suggestions
include
the
institutionalization
of
the
means
by
which
extraordinary
powers
may
be
exercised
by
the
President
as
well
as
of
the
means
by
which
he
is
to
be
held
especially
accountable
for
them.
How-
ever,
he
points
out
that
an
active,
informed,
and
vigilant
legislature,
backed
by
an
equally
active,
informed,
and
vigilant
people,
is
the
most
effective
assurance
that
such
strong
medicine
will
not
be used
to
kill
constitutional
democracy.
Although
Mr.
Rossiter
leaves
himself
open
to
criticism
for
lumping
inside
the
arena
of
&dquo;constitutional
dictatorship&dquo;
a
wide
range
of
vigorous
executive
actions,
the
value
of
his
study
to
students
of
governmental
problems
in
the
mid-twentieth
century
would
appear
to
be
his
program
for
the
formalization
of
crisis
government,
for
the
subject
of
his
study
promises
to
be
of
increasing
concern
to
Americans.
State
College
of
Washington.
DANIEL
M.
OGDEN,
JR.
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