Absolute sovereign power requires loyal protection that breeds paranoia

Evidence

But to deem it powerless is to measure it against an omnipotence, an embedded theological conception, no earthly sovereign could possibly exhibit, as Hobbes pointed out. A sovereign assumes absolute power only in virtue of surrounding himself with sufficient and sufficiently loyal protection to prevent the approach of threat. But in so surrounding himself he immediately renders himself vulnerable, at least to the paranoia that no protection is foolproof. — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race, 1626

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the logic in ‘On Sacrifice’ about sacral kingship — the king who must be protected from and by his own repressive apparatus.