The Unitary Presidency

Author : Graham G. Dodds
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 193 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2019-08-05
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781351052764

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The Unitary Presidency by Graham G. Dodds Pdf

The theory of the unitary executive is one of the most controversial and significant constitutional doctrines of the past several decades. It holds that the U.S. president alone embodies all executive power and therefore has unlimited ability to direct the many people and institutions within the federal government’s vast executive branch. It thus justifies the president’s prerogative to organize the executive branch and to direct its activities, to tell executive personnel what to do and to fire them if desired, to control the flow of information, and to issue signing statements that make judgments about constitutionality and determine the extent to which laws will be implemented. In some versions, it also endorses implied or inherent powers and permits the president to completely control foreign policy and military action. Proponents say this conception of the presidential office is faithful to the Constitution, facilitates the sort of energetic executive that Alexander Hamilton argued for, and enhances administrative efficacy and political accountability for governance. Critics say this arrangement is constitutionally inaccurate, is belied by historical practice and legal precedents, and is dangerously close to the monarchical power that provoked the American Revolution – and can be especially threatening in the era of Donald Trump. This book examines how controversies about unitary executive power have played out from the founding era to the present day with a focus on recent presidents, it explores arguments both for and against the unitary executive theory, and it looks ahead to future implications for American politics.

Author : Jeffrey Crouch,Mark J. Rozell,Mitchel A. Sollenberger
Publisher : University Press of Kansas
Page : 222 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2020-11-30
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780700630042

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The Unitary Executive Theory by Jeffrey Crouch,Mark J. Rozell,Mitchel A. Sollenberger Pdf

“I have an Article II,” Donald Trump has announced, citing the US Constitution, “where I have the right to do whatever I want as president.” Though this statement would have come as a shock to the framers of the Constitution, it fairly sums up the essence of “the unitary executive theory.” This theory, which emerged during the Reagan administration and gathered strength with every subsequent presidency, counters the system of checks and balances that constrains a president’s executive impulses. It also, the authors of this book contend, counters the letter and spirit of the Constitution. In their account of the rise of unitary executive theory over the last several decades, the authors refute the notion that this overweening view of executive power has been a common feature of the presidency from the beginning of the Republic. Rather, they show, it was invented under the Reagan Administration, got a boost during the George W. Bush administration, and has found its logical extension in the Trump administration. This critique of the unitary executive theory reveals it as a misguided model for understanding presidential powers. While its adherents argue that greater presidential power makes government more efficient, the results have shown otherwise. Dismantling the myth that presidents enjoy unchecked plenary powers, the authors advocate for principles of separation of powers—of checks and balances—that honor the Constitution and support the republican government its framers envisioned. A much-needed primer on presidential power, from the nation’s founding through Donald Trump’s impeachment, The Unitary Executive Theory: A Danger to Constitutional Government makes a robust and persuasive case for a return to our constitutional limits.

Author : Ryan J. Barilleaux,Christopher S. Kelley
Publisher : Texas A&M University Press
Page : 255 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2010-04-07
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781603441902

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The Unitary Executive and the Modern Presidency by Ryan J. Barilleaux,Christopher S. Kelley Pdf

During his first term in office, Pres. George W. Bush made reference to the "unitary executive" ninety-five times, as part of signing statements, proclamations, and executive orders. Pres. Barack Obama's actions continue to make issues of executive power as timely as ever. Unitary executive theory stems from interpretation of the constitutional assertion that the president is vested with the "executive power" of the United States. In this groundbreaking collection of studies, eleven presidential scholars examine for the first time the origins, development, use, and future of this theory. The Unitary Executive and the Modern Presidency examines how the unitary executive theory became a recognized constitutional theory of presidential authority, how it has evolved, how it has been employed by presidents of both parties, and how its use has affected and been affected by U.S. politics. This book also examines the constitutional, political, and even psychological impact of the last thirty years of turmoil in the executive branch and the ways that controversy has altered both the exercise and the public’s view of presidential power.

Author : Steven G. Calabresi,Christopher S. Yoo
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2008
Category : Executive power
ISBN : 0300121261

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The Unitary Executive by Steven G. Calabresi,Christopher S. Yoo Pdf

This book provides a detailed historical and legal examination of presidential power and the theory of the unitary executive.

Author : John P. MacKenzie
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 96 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2008
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : UOM:39015076160715

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Absolute Power by John P. MacKenzie Pdf

"A Century Foundation report"--T.p.

Author : Stephen Skowronek,John A. Dearborn,Desmond King
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2021-03-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780197543108

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Phantoms of a Beleaguered Republic by Stephen Skowronek,John A. Dearborn,Desmond King Pdf

A powerful dissection of one of the fundamental problems in American governance today: the clash between presidents determined to redirect the nation through ever-tighter control of administration and an executive branch still organized to promote shared interests in steady hands, due deliberation, and expertise. President Trump pitted himself repeatedly against the institutions and personnel of the executive branch. In the process, two once-obscure concepts came center stage in an eerie faceoff. On one side was the specter of a "Deep State" conspiracyadministrators threatening to thwart the will of the people and undercut the constitutional authority of the president they elected to lead them. On the other side was a raw personalization of presidential power, one that a theory of "the unitary executive" gussied up and allowed to run roughshod over reason and the rule of law. The Deep State and the unitary executive framed every major contest of the Trump presidency. Like phantom twins, they drew each other out. These conflicts are not new. Stephen Skowronek, John A. Dearborn, and Desmond King trace the tensions between presidential power and the depth of the American state back through the decades and forward through the various settlements arrived at in previous eras. Phantoms of a Beleaguered Republic is about the breakdown of settlements and the abiding vulnerabilities of a Constitution that gave scant attention to administrative power. Rather than simply dump on Trump, the authors provide a richly historical perspective on the conflicts that rocked his presidency, and they explain why, if left untamed, the phantom twins will continue to pull the American government apart.

Author : David M. Driesen
Publisher : Stanford University Press
Page : 323 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 2021-07-20
Category : Law
ISBN : 9781503628625

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The Specter of Dictatorship by David M. Driesen Pdf

Reveals how the U.S. Supreme Court's presidentialism threatens our democracy and what to do about it. Donald Trump's presidency made many Americans wonder whether our system of checks and balances would prove robust enough to withstand an onslaught from a despotic chief executive. In The Specter of Dictatorship, David Driesen analyzes the chief executive's role in the democratic decline of Hungary, Poland, and Turkey and argues that an insufficiently constrained presidency is one of the most important systemic threats to democracy. Driesen urges the U.S. to learn from the mistakes of these failing democracies. Their experiences suggest, Driesen shows, that the Court must eschew its reliance on and expansion of the "unitary executive theory" recently endorsed by the Court and apply a less deferential approach to presidential authority, invoked to protect national security and combat emergencies, than it has in recent years. Ultimately, Driesen argues that concern about loss of democracy should play a major role in the Court's jurisprudence, because loss of democracy can prove irreversible. As autocracy spreads throughout the world, maintaining our democracy has become an urgent matter.

Author : Steven G. Calabresi,Christopher S. Yoo
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 558 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2008-10-01
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780300145380

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The Unitary Executive by Steven G. Calabresi,Christopher S. Yoo Pdf

This book is the first to undertake a detailed historical and legal examination of presidential power and the theory of the unitary executive. This theory--that the Constitution gives the president the power to remove and control all policy-making subordinates in the executive branch--has been the subject of heated debate since the Reagan years. To determine whether the Constitution creates a strongly unitary executive, Steven G. Calabresi and Christopher S. Yoo look at the actual practice of all forty-three presidential administrations, from George Washington to George W. Bush. They argue that all presidents have been committed proponents of the theory of the unitary executive, and they explore the meaning and implications of this finding.

Author : Arthur Meier Schlesinger
Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Page : 630 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2004
Category : Executive power
ISBN : 0618420010

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The Imperial Presidency by Arthur Meier Schlesinger Pdf

Publisher Description

Author : John A. Dearborn
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 347 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2021-09-10
Category : History
ISBN : 9780226797830

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Power Shifts by John A. Dearborn Pdf

"The extraordinary nature of the Trump presidency has spawned a resurgence in the study of the presidency and a rising concern about the power of the office. In Power Shifts: Congress and Presidential Representation, John Dearborn explores the development of the idea of the representative presidency, that the president alone is elected by a national constituency, and thus the only part of government who can represent the nation against the parochial concerns of members of Congress, and its relationship to the growth of presidential power in the 20th century. Dearborn asks why Congress conceded so much power to the Chief Executive, with the support of particularly conservative members of the Supreme Court. He discusses the debates between Congress and the Executive and the arguments offered by politicians, scholars, and members of the judiciary about the role of the president in the American state. He asks why so many bought into the idea of the representative, and hence, strong presidency despite unpopular wars, failed foreign policies, and parochial actions that favor only the president's supporters. This is a book about the power of ideas in the development of the American state"--

Author : Chris Edelson
Publisher : University of Wisconsin Pres
Page : 250 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2016-05-11
Category : History
ISBN : 9780299307400

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Power Without Constraint by Chris Edelson Pdf

Despite rhetorical differences, the administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama have both claimed broadly unrestrained presidential power in matters of military force, surveillance, and the state secrets privilege.

Author : Stephen Skowronek
Publisher : University Press of Kansas
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2020-01-30
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780700629435

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Presidential Leadership in Political Time by Stephen Skowronek Pdf

In this expanded third edition, renowned scholar Stephen Skowronek, addresses Donald J. Trump’s presidency. Skowronek’s insights have fundamentally altered our understanding of the American presidency. His “political time” thesis has been particularly influential, revealing how presidents reckon with the work of their predecessors, situate their power within recent political events, and assert their authority in the service of change. A classic widely used in courses on the presidency, Skowronek’s book has greatly expanded our understanding of and debates over the politics of leadership. It clarifies the typical political problems that presidents confront in political time, as well as the likely effects of their working through them, and considers contemporary innovations in our political system that bear on the leadership patterns from the more distant past. Drawing out parallels in the politics of leadership between Andrew Jackson and Franklin Roosevelt and between James Polk and John Kennedy, it develops a new and revealing perspective on the presidential leadership of Clinton, Bush, Obama, and now Trump. In this third edition Skowronek carefully examines the impact of recent developments in government and politics on traditional leadership postures and their enactment, given the current divided state of the American polity, the impact of the twenty-four-hour news cycle, of a more disciplined and homogeneous Republican party, of conservative advocacy of the “unitary theory” of the executive, and of progressive disillusionment with the presidency as an institution. A provocative review of presidential history, Skowronek’s book brims with fresh insights and opens a window on the institution of the executive office and the workings of the American political system as a whole. Intellectually satisfying for scholars, it also provides an accessible volume for students and general readers interested in the American presidency.

Author : Richard P. Nathan
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 228 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 1983
Category : Political Science
ISBN : UOM:39015001611667

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The Administrative Presidency by Richard P. Nathan Pdf

Author : John Yoo
Publisher : Macmillan + ORM
Page : 222 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2020-07-28
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781250269614

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Defender in Chief by John Yoo Pdf

In Defender in Chief, celebrated constitutional scholar John Yoo makes a provocative case against Donald Trump's alleged disruption of constitutional rules and norms. Donald Trump isn't shredding the Constitution—he's its greatest defender. Ask any liberal—and many moderate conservatives—and they'll tell you that Donald Trump is a threat to the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution. Mainstream media outlets have reported fresh examples of alleged executive overreach or authoritarian White House decisions nearly every day of his presidency. In the 2020 primaries, the candidates have rushed to accuse Trump of destroying our democracy and jeopardizing our nation's very existence. Yoo argues that this charge has things exactly backwards. Far from considering Trump an inherent threat to our nation's founding principles, Yoo convincingly argues that Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Hamilton would have seen Trump as returning to their vision of presidential power, even at his most controversial. It is instead liberal opponents who would overthrow existing constitutional understanding in order to unseat Trump, but in getting their man would inflict permanent damage on the office of the presidency, the most important office in our constitutional system and the world. This provocative and engaging work is a compelling defense of an embattled president's ideas and actions.

Author : Chris Edelson
Publisher : University of Wisconsin Pres
Page : 376 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2013-12-19
Category : History
ISBN : 9780299295332

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Emergency Presidential Power by Chris Edelson Pdf

Can a U.S. president decide to hold suspected terrorists indefinitely without charges or secretly monitor telephone conversations and e-mails without a warrant in the interest of national security? Was the George W. Bush administration justified in authorizing waterboarding? Was President Obama justified in ordering the killing, without trial or hearing, of a U.S. citizen suspected of terrorist activity? Defining the scope and limits of emergency presidential power might seem easy—just turn to Article II of the Constitution. But as Chris Edelson shows, the reality is complicated. In times of crisis, presidents have frequently staked out claims to broad national security power. Ultimately it is up to the Congress, the courts, and the people to decide whether presidents are acting appropriately or have gone too far. Drawing on excerpts from the U.S. Constitution, Supreme Court opinions, Department of Justice memos, and other primary documents, Edelson weighs the various arguments that presidents have used to justify the expansive use of executive power in times of crisis. Emergency Presidential Power uses the historical record to evaluate and analyze presidential actions before and after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The choices of the twenty-first century, Edelson concludes, have pushed the boundaries of emergency presidential power in ways that may provide dangerous precedents for current and future commanders-in-chief. Winner, Crader Family Book Prize in American Values, Department of History and Crader Family Endowment for American Values, Southeast Missouri State University