A Theory of the Executive Branch

A Theory of the Executive Branch PDF Author: Margit Cohn
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198821980
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
This monograph offers a theoretical foundation of the executive branch in Western democracies and argues that the tension between dominance and submission is maintained by the adoption of various forms of fuzziness, under which a guise of legality masks the absence of the substantive limitation of power.

A Theory of the Executive Branch

A Theory of the Executive Branch PDF Author: Margit Cohn
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198821980
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 353

Get Book

Book Description
This monograph offers a theoretical foundation of the executive branch in Western democracies and argues that the tension between dominance and submission is maintained by the adoption of various forms of fuzziness, under which a guise of legality masks the absence of the substantive limitation of power.

The Unitary Executive Theory

The Unitary Executive Theory PDF Author: Jeffrey Crouch
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
ISBN: 070063004X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
“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.

The Specter of Dictatorship

The Specter of Dictatorship PDF Author: David M. Driesen
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 1503628620
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 323

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Book Description
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.

The Unitary Executive and the Modern Presidency

The Unitary Executive and the Modern Presidency PDF Author: Ryan J. Barilleaux
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1603441905
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
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.

The Unitary Executive

The Unitary Executive PDF Author: Steven G. Calabresi
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780300121261
Category : Executive power
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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

The Unitary Executive

The Unitary Executive PDF Author: Steven G. Calabresi
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300145381
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 558

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Book Description
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.

Executive Power in Theory and Practice

Executive Power in Theory and Practice PDF Author: H. Liebert
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 9780230339965
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Since September 11, 2001, long-standing debates over the nature and proper extent of executive power have assumed a fresh urgency. In this book eleven leading scholars of American politics and political theory address the idea of executive power.

Phantoms of a Beleaguered Republic

Phantoms of a Beleaguered Republic PDF Author: Stephen Skowronek
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197543103
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
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.

Absolute Power

Absolute Power PDF Author: John P. MacKenzie
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780870785115
Category : Constitutional law
Languages : en
Pages : 96

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Book Description
The unitary executive theory argues that the president has virtually complete and total executive power that is unchecked by Congress or the courts. This controversial theory has been invoked repeatedly by the Bush administration in justification of its boldest actions, both at home and abroad. It is touted by its adherents as being the intent of the founders, even though it eliminates many checks and balances that long have been considered a mainstay of our system of government. How could such a powerful and influential theory have flown under the radar for so long, only to rise to such prominence? Is the unitary executive truly what the founders wanted? And what is the legacy of such a presidency? In A "bsolute Power, " John P. MacKenzie looks at the origins and history of the unitary executive theory, examining its broad claims of presidential power in the light of the founders' original writings as well as the actions of Presidents Jackson, Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, and Truman, all of whom tested the power of their office against that of Congress and the Supreme Court. Arguing that the theory is historically baseless and relies on a misreading of the Constitution and The Federalist Papers, MacKenzie raises troubling questions about the lasting legal consequences of a presidency endowed with almost monarchic power. Because future presidents must confront the same concerns of power and governance, he argues, candidates for the office must demonstrate that they understand the issues and are willing to live with shared power.

The Law of the Executive Branch

The Law of the Executive Branch PDF Author: Louis Fisher
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199856214
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 482

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Book Description
The Law of the Executive Branch: Presidential Power places the law of the executive branch firmly in the context of constitutional language, framers' intent, and more than two centuries of practice. Each provision of the US Constitution is analyzed to reveal its contemporary meaning and in concert with the application of presidential power.