Power and Constraint: The Accountable Presidency After 9/11

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Government
Cover of the book Power and Constraint: The Accountable Presidency After 9/11 by Jack Goldsmith, W. W. Norton & Company
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jack Goldsmith ISBN: 9780393083514
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Publication: March 12, 2012
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company Language: English
Author: Jack Goldsmith
ISBN: 9780393083514
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication: March 12, 2012
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company
Language: English

The surprising truth behind Barack Obama's decision to continue many of his predecessor's counterterrorism policies.

Conventional wisdom holds that 9/11 sounded the death knell for presidential accountability. In fact, the opposite is true. The novel powers that our post-9/11 commanders in chief assumed—endless detentions, military commissions, state secrets, broad surveillance, and more—are the culmination of a two-century expansion of presidential authority. But these new powers have been met with thousands of barely visible legal and political constraints—enforced by congressional committees, government lawyers, courts, and the media—that have transformed our unprecedentedly powerful presidency into one that is also unprecedentedly accountable.

These constraints are the key to understanding why Obama continued the Bush counterterrorism program, and in this light, the events of the last decade should be seen as a victory, not a failure, of American constitutional government. We have actually preserved the framers’ original idea of a balanced constitution, despite the vast increase in presidential power made necessary by this age of permanent emergency.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The surprising truth behind Barack Obama's decision to continue many of his predecessor's counterterrorism policies.

Conventional wisdom holds that 9/11 sounded the death knell for presidential accountability. In fact, the opposite is true. The novel powers that our post-9/11 commanders in chief assumed—endless detentions, military commissions, state secrets, broad surveillance, and more—are the culmination of a two-century expansion of presidential authority. But these new powers have been met with thousands of barely visible legal and political constraints—enforced by congressional committees, government lawyers, courts, and the media—that have transformed our unprecedentedly powerful presidency into one that is also unprecedentedly accountable.

These constraints are the key to understanding why Obama continued the Bush counterterrorism program, and in this light, the events of the last decade should be seen as a victory, not a failure, of American constitutional government. We have actually preserved the framers’ original idea of a balanced constitution, despite the vast increase in presidential power made necessary by this age of permanent emergency.

More books from W. W. Norton & Company

Cover of the book Neurobiology and the Development of Human Morality: Evolution, Culture, and Wisdom (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology) by Jack Goldsmith
Cover of the book Stunning Sentences (The Effective Writing Series) by Jack Goldsmith
Cover of the book Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits by Jack Goldsmith
Cover of the book Making Certain It Goes On: The Collected Poems of Richard Hugo by Jack Goldsmith
Cover of the book Bag Men: A Novel by Jack Goldsmith
Cover of the book Aroused: The History of Hormones and How They Control Just About Everything by Jack Goldsmith
Cover of the book Logic Made Easy: How to Know When Language Deceives You by Jack Goldsmith
Cover of the book City of Light, City of Poison: Murder, Magic, and the First Police Chief of Paris by Jack Goldsmith
Cover of the book Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris by Jack Goldsmith
Cover of the book The Birth of Intersubjectivity: Psychodynamics, Neurobiology, and the Self by Jack Goldsmith
Cover of the book Curses! Broiled Again! by Jack Goldsmith
Cover of the book Trainspotting by Jack Goldsmith
Cover of the book Voyage of the Narwhal: A Novel by Jack Goldsmith
Cover of the book The Director: A Novel by Jack Goldsmith
Cover of the book The Dickson Baseball Dictionary (Third Edition) by Jack Goldsmith
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy