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Power without Persuasion: The Politics of Direct Presidential Action
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 352.2350973
EAN: 9780691102702
ISBN: 0691102708
Label: Princeton University Press
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 280
Publication Date: July 08, 2003
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Studio: Princeton University Press
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Editorial Review: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.
Customer Reviews
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Rating: - Good scholarship, but too complicated
Howell's book is part of a recent trend towards viewing the president as more than just one player in a larger system. Instead we can better understand the presidency if we realize that the president comes in to the game with institutional advantages over Congress and the courts.
Debunking further Richard Neustadt's bargaining hypothesis (see his book Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents), Howell argues that presidents have the ability in many situations to use direct forms ... Read More
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