Trajectory of power : the rise of the strongman presidency / William G. Howell, Terry M. Moe.
| Author/creator | Howell, William G. author. |
| Other author | Moe, Terry M., author. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication | Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2025] |
| Copyright Date | ©2025 |
| Description | v, 317 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | The dawning of the administrative state and the modern presidency -- The symmetric logic -- The origins of the asymmetric logic -- The asymmetric logic takes hold -- The asymmetry goes extreme -- Democracy and the strongman presidency. |
| Abstract | "In Trajectory of Power, leading political scientists William Howell and Terry Moe provide a sweeping account of the historical rise of presidential power, arguing that it has now grown to the point where, in the wrong hands, it threatens to subvert American democracy and replace it with a de facto system of strongman rule, whether led by Donald Trump or someone else. The book shows that, for much of the twentieth century, Republican and Democratic presidents pursued power in very similar ways and almost always within democratic bounds. But Republican presidents since Ronald Reagan, in a transformation that has grown increasingly extreme over time, have gone beyond the "normal" incentives that have traditionally shaped presidential behavior--and still shape the behavior of Democratic presidents--to pursue a presidency of such expansive unilateral power, and with such disregard for basic democratic requirements, that it puts democracy at serious risk. Trajectory of Power traces this divergence in approach to the backlash of conservatives against the administrative state, and to their epiphany that a war on big government could only be waged through a presidency of extraordinary power. With this vision in mind, Reagan's Justice Department pioneered the Unitary Executive Theory, which justified vast expansions of unilateral presidential power and was further radicalized over the decades as the Republican Party became more ideologically extreme, more populist, more anti-system, and ultimately more supportive of a strongman presidency. Timely, urgent, and original, Trajectory of Power reveals how the presidency has been profoundly transformed during the modern era--and why it now puts our democracy in imminent danger." -- Provided by publisher. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| LCCN | 2025934683 |
| ISBN | 9780691276175 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | 069127617X (hardcover) |
| ISBN | (e-book) |
| Standard identifier# | CIPO000257515 |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joyner | Item has been checked out | JK516 .H677 2025 | Due 05/08/2026 | Want This? |