Howell Power without Persuasion

The Politics of Direct Presidential Action
1. Auflage 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4008-7439-2
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 264 Seiten

Since the early 1960s, scholarly thinking on the power of U.S. presidents has rested on these words: "Presidential power is the power to persuade." Power, in this formulation, is strictly about bargaining and convincing other political actors to do things the president cannot accomplish alone. Power without Persuasion argues otherwise. Focusing on presidents' ability to act unilaterally, William Howell provides the most theoretically substantial and far-reaching reevaluation of presidential power in many years. He argues that presidents regularly set public policies over vocal objections by Congress, interest groups, and the bureaucracy.

Throughout U.S. history, going back to the Louisiana Purchase and the Emancipation Proclamation, presidents have set landmark policies on their own. More recently, Roosevelt interned Japanese Americans during World War II, Kennedy established the Peace Corps, Johnson got affirmative action underway, Reagan greatly expanded the president's powers of regulatory review, and Clinton extended protections to millions of acres of public lands. Since September 11, Bush has created a new cabinet post and constructed a parallel judicial system to try suspected terrorists.

Howell not only presents numerous new empirical findings but goes well beyond the theoretical scope of previous studies. Drawing richly on game theory and the new institutionalism, he examines the political conditions under which presidents can change policy without congressional or judicial consent. Clearly written, Power without Persuasion asserts a compelling new formulation of presidential power, one whose implications will resound.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Howell, William G.

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter, pg. i
Contents, pg. vii
List of Figures, pg. ix
List of Tables, pg. xi
Preface, pg. xiii
1. Presidential Power in the Modern Era, pg. 1
2. A Formal Representation of Unilateral Action, pg. 24
3. Bridge Building, pg. 55
4. Theory Testing, pg. 76
5. Congressional Constraints on Presidential Power, pg. 101
6. The Institutional Foundations of Judicial Deference, pg. 136
7. Conclusion, pg. 175
Appendix 1. Coding of Executive Orders, pg. 189
Appendix 2. Proofs of Propositions in the Unilateral Politics Model, pg. 192
Appendix 3. Identifying Congressional Challenges to Executive Orders, pg. 196
Appendix 4. Federal Court Challenges to Executive Orders, pg. 198
Notes, pg. 203
Bibliography, pg. 219
Index, pg. 231

Über Autor(innen)

William G. Howell is Assistant Professor of Government at Harvard University. In 2001 he received both the E.E. Schattschneider Award for the best dissertation in American politics, from the American Political Science Association, and the Center for Presidential Studies prize for the best dissertation on the presidency.