Thinking about the Presidency

The Primacy of Power

William G. Howell (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

208 Seiten

2013
Princeton University Press (Verlag)
978-0-691-15534-0 (ISBN)

Infos

All American presidents, past and present, have cared deeply about power--acquiring, protecting, and expanding it. While individual presidents obviously have other concerns, such as shaping policy or building a legacy, the primacy of power considerations--exacerbated by expectations of the presidency and the inadequacy of explicit powers in the Constitution--sets presidents apart from other political actors. Thinking about the Presidency explores presidents' preoccupation with power. Distinguished presidential scholar William Howell looks at the key aspects of executive power--political and constitutional origins, philosophical underpinnings, manifestations in contemporary political life, implications for political reform, and looming influences over the standards to which we hold those individuals elected to America's highest office. Howell shows that an appetite for power may not inform the original motivations of those who seek to become president. Rather, this need is built into the office of the presidency itself--and quickly takes hold of whoever bears the title of Chief Executive.
In order to understand the modern presidency, and the degrees to which a president succeeds or fails, the acquisition, protection, and expansion of power in a president's political life must be recognized--in policy tools and legislative strategies, the posture taken before the American public, and the disregard shown to those who would counsel modesty and deference within the White House. Thinking about the Presidency assesses how the search for and defense of presidential powers informs nearly every decision made by the leader of the nation.

Autor

William G. Howell is the Sydney Stein Professor in American Politics at the University of Chicago, where he holds appointments in the Harris School of Public Policy, the Department of Political Science, and the College. His books include While Dangers Gather and Power without Persuasion (both Princeton), as well as The Wartime President. David Milton Brent is a PhD student in the Department of Political Science at Yale University.

Inhalt

Preface ix Acknowledgments xv Chapter 1. On Being President 1 Chapter 2. Bearing Witness 20 Chapter 3. Constitutional Foundations 55 Chapter 4. Contrasting Conceptions of Executive Leadership 71 Chapter 5. Misguided Entreaties 92 Chapter 6. What Failure Looks Like 106 Chapter 7. Limits 128 Appendix: Article II of the U.S. Constitution 145 Notes 149 Suggested Readings 169 Index 173

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 7.4.2013
• Verlagsort: New Jersey
• Sprache: englisch
• Maße: 152 x 235 mm
• Gewicht: 567 g
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung ► Staat / Verwaltung
• ISBN-10: 0-691-15534-8 / 0691155348
• ISBN-13: 978-0-691-15534-0 / 9780691155340
• Zustand: Neuware