Casper served as the ninth president of Stanford University and is scholar of constitutional law, constitutional history, comparative law, and jurisprudence. Born in Germany, Casper studied law at the universities of Freiburg and Hamburg before earning his master’s in law from Yale in 1962 and doctorate in law from Freiburg in 1964. Casper was assistant professor of political science at the University of California at Berkeley, faculty then dean at the University of Chicago Law School, then provost of the University of Chicago. From 1992 to 2000 he was the president of Stanford University.
Casper’s writings tackle subjects such as legal realism, the workload of the Supreme Court, and the separation of powers in the United States. He is the author of numerous books and scholarly articles.
As a scholar-in-residence at The John W. Kluge Center, Casper researched two unrelated topics: the views of German sociologist Max Weber on democratic governance and the 1795 U.S. Naturalization Act.
News Releases
- “Gerhard Casper Named to American Law and Governance Chair in John W. Kluge Center”
- “Gerhard Casper To Discuss “Caesarism in Democratic Politics”
Publications (selected list):
- “Separating Power: Essays on the Founding Period” (LC catalog record)
- “The Workload of the Supreme Court” (LC catalog record)
Lectures
“Caesarism in Democratic Politics”
March 22, 2007
Gerhard Casper discusses the concept on “Caesarism” in Max Weber’s political thought, and its relevance to contemporary politics.
Read news release
View webcast