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War and the State: The Theory of International Politics
by R. Harrison WagnerWar and the Stateexposes the invalid arguments employed in the unproductive debate about Realism among international relations scholars, as well as the common fallacy of sharply distinguishing between conflict among states and conflict within them. As R. Harrison Wagner demonstrates, any understanding of international politics must be part of a more general study of the relationship between political order and organized violence everywhere--as it was in the intellectual tradition from which modern-day Realism was derived. War and the Statedraws on the insights from Wagner's distinguished career to create an elegantly crafted essay accessible to both students and scholars. "Possibly the most important book on international relations theory since Kenneth Waltz'sTheory of International Politics. " ---James Fearon, Stanford University "This is one of the best books on international relations theory I have read in a very long time. It is required reading for any student of modern IR theory. Once again, Wagner has shown himself to be one of the clearest thinkers in the field today. " ---Robert Powell, Robson Professor of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley "Painting on a vast canvas, and tackling and integrating topics such as state formation, domestic politics, and international conflict, R. Harrison Wagner'sWar and the Stateoffers many brilliant insights into the nature of international relations and international conflict. War and the Statecompellingly highlights the importance of constructing rigorous and valid theorizing and sets a high standard for all students of international relations. The field has much to gain if scholars follow the trail blazed by Wagner in this book. " ---Hein Goemans, University of Rochester R. Harrison Wagner is Professor of Government at the University of Texas.
War as Paradox: Clausewitz and Hegel on Fighting Doctrines and Ethics
by Youri CormierTwo centuries after Carl von Clausewitz wrote On War, it lines the shelves of military colleges around the world and even showed up in an Al Qaeda hideout. Though it has shaped much of the common parlance on the subject, On War is perceived by many as a "metaphysical fog," widely known but hardly read. In War as Paradox, Youri Cormier lifts the fog on this iconic work by explaining its philosophical underpinnings. Building up a genealogy of dialectical war theory and integrating Hegel with Clausewitz as a co-founders of the method, Cormier uncovers a common logic that shaped the fighting doctrines and ethics of modern war. He explains how Hegel and Clausewitz converged on method, but nonetheless arrived at opposite ethics and military doctrines. Ultimately, Cormier seeks out the limits to dialectical war theory and explores the greater paradoxes the method reveals: can so-called "rational" theories of war hold up under the pressures of irrational propositions, such as lone-wolf attacks, the circular logic of a "war to end all wars," or the apparent folly of mutually assured destruction? Since the Second World War, commentators have described war as obsolete. War as Paradox argues that dialectical war theory may be the key to understanding why, despite this, it continues.
War as Paradox: Clausewitz and Hegel on Fighting Doctrines and Ethics (McGill-Queen's Studies in the History of Ideas #67)
by Youri CormierTwo centuries after Carl von Clausewitz wrote On War, it lines the shelves of military colleges around the world and even showed up in an Al Qaeda hideout. Though it has shaped much of the common parlance on the subject, On War is perceived by many as a “metaphysical fog,” widely known but hardly read. In War as Paradox, Youri Cormier lifts the fog on this iconic work by explaining its philosophical underpinnings. Building up a genealogy of dialectical war theory and integrating Hegel with Clausewitz as a co-founders of the method, Cormier uncovers a common logic that shaped the fighting doctrines and ethics of modern war. He explains how Hegel and Clausewitz converged on method, but nonetheless arrived at opposite ethics and military doctrines. Ultimately, Cormier seeks out the limits to dialectical war theory and explores the greater paradoxes the method reveals: can so-called “rational” theories of war hold up under the pressures of irrational propositions, such as lone-wolf attacks, the circular logic of a “war to end all wars,” or the apparent folly of mutually assured destruction? Since the Second World War, commentators have described war as obsolete. War as Paradox argues that dialectical war theory may be the key to understanding why, despite this, it continues.
War by Other Means: An Insider's Account of the War on Terror
by John YooJohn Yoo, the key legal architect of the Bush administration’s response to 9/11, delivers a fascinating insider account of the War on Terror. While America reeled from the cataclysmic events of September 11, 2001, Yoo and a skeletal staff of the Office of Legal Counsel found themselves on the phone with the White House. In a series of memos, Yoo offered his legal opinions on the president’s authority to respond, and in the process had an almost unmatched impact on America's fight against terrorism. His analysis led to many of the Bush administration’s most controversial policies, including detention at Guantanamo Bay, coercive interrogation, military trials for terrorists, preemptive attacks, and the National Security Agency’s wiretapping program. In fascinating detail, Yoo takes us inside the corridors of power and examines specific cases, from John Walker Lindh and Jose Padilla to an American al-Qaeda leader assassinated by a CIA pilotless drone in the deserts of Yemen. In a midterm election year, when the controversies over the president’s handling of the War on Terror are sure to wage more forcefully than ever before, John Yoo’s War by Other Means is set to become one of the fall’s most talked about books.
War, Demobilization and Memory: The Legacy of War in the Era of Atlantic Revolutions (War, Culture and Society, 1750-1850)
by Michael Rowe Karen Hagemann Alan ForrestThis volume examines the impact of the wars in the Atlantic world between 1770 and 1830, focusing both on the military, economic, political, social and cultural demobilization that occurred immediately at their end, and their long-term legacy and memory.
The War for Afghanistan: From Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History (Princeton Shorts #9)
by Thomas J. BarfieldWhen it invaded Afghanistan in 2001, the United States sought to do something previous foreign powers had never attempted: to create an Afghani state where none existed. More than a decade on, the new regime in Kabul remains plagued by illegitimacy and ineffectiveness. What happened? As Thomas Barfield shows, the history of previous efforts to build governments in Afghanistan does much to explain the difficulties besetting this newest experiment. Princeton Shorts are brief selections taken from influential Princeton University Press books and produced exclusively in ebook format. Providing unmatched insight into important contemporary issues or timeless passages from classic works of the past, Princeton Shorts enable you to be an instant expert in a world where information is everywhere but quality is at a premium.
The War for Children's Minds
by Stephen LawFirst Published in 2007. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World
by Jamil Zaki&“In this masterpiece, Jamil Zaki weaves together the very latest science with stories that will stay in your heart forever.&”—Angela Duckworth, author of GritDon&’t miss Jamil Zaki&’s TED Talk, &“We&’re experiencing an empathy shortage, but we can fix it together,&” online now. Empathy is in short supply. We struggle to understand people who aren&’t like us, but find it easy to hate them. Studies show that we are less caring than we were even thirty years ago. In 2006, Barack Obama said that the United States was suffering from an &“empathy deficit.&” Since then, things seem to have only gotten worse. It doesn&’t have to be this way. In this groundbreaking book, Jamil Zaki shares cutting-edge research, including experiments from his own lab, showing that empathy is not a fixed trait—something we&’re born with or not—but rather a skill that can be strengthened through effort. He also tells the stories of people who embody this new perspective, fighting for kindness in the most difficult of circumstances. We meet a former neo-Nazi who is now helping to extract people from hate groups, ex-prisoners discussing novels with the judge who sentenced them, Washington police officers changing their culture to decrease violence among their ranks, and NICU nurses fine-tuning their empathy so that they don&’t succumb to burnout. Written with clarity and passion, The War for Kindness is an inspiring call to action. The future may depend on whether we accept the challenge.Praise for The War for Kindness&“A wide-ranging practical guide to making the world better.&”—NPR&“Relating anecdotes and test cases from his fellow researchers, news events and the imaginary world of literature and entertainment, Zaki makes a vital case for &‘fighting for kindness.&’ . . . If he&’s right—and after reading The War for Kindness, you&’ll probably think so—Zaki&’s work is right on time.&” —San Francisco Chronicle&“In this landmark book, Jamil Zaki gives us a revolutionary perspective on empathy: Empathy can be developed, and, when it is, people, relationships, organizations, and cultures are changed.&”—Carol Dweck, author of Mindset
A War for the Soul of America: A History of the Culture Wars
by Andrew HartmanThe “unrivaled” history of America’s divided politics, now in a fully updated edition that examines the rise of Trump—and what comes next (New Republic). When it was published in 2015, Andrew Hartman’s history of the culture wars was widely praised for its compelling and even-handed account of how they came to define American politics at the close of the twentieth century. But it also garnered attention for Hartman’s declaration that the culture wars were over—and that the left had won. In the wake of Trump’s rise, driven by an aggressive fanning of those culture war flames, Hartman has brought A War for the Soul of America fully up to date, detailing the ways in which Trump’s success, while undeniable, represents the last gasp of culture war politics—and how the reaction he has elicited can show us early signs of the very different politics to come.“As a guide to the late twentieth-century culture wars, Hartman is unrivalled . . . . Incisive portraits of individual players in the culture wars dramas . . . . Reading Hartman sometimes feels like debriefing with friends after a raucous night out, an experience punctuated by laughter, head-scratching, and moments of regret for the excesses involved.” —New Republic
The War Game: Studies of the New Civilian Militarists
by Irving Louis HorowitzWar gaming has become a characteristic feature of modern life. From amateur clubs to professional academicians playing the war game in the company of military circles, we have come up against the phenomenon of the "robotization" of human life. Irving Louis Horowitz argues that those who protest the idea that war is a game do so on moral grounds that leave unanswered tough questions: What is the alternative to playing the game? What will become of us if we allow the opponent to become the better "player" in an all-or-nothing game of extinction?Horowitz provides answers in a logical manner while focusing on facts and ethical alternatives to risky ethics. The work is divided into three sections: The New Civilian Militarists, Thermonuclear Peace and Its Political Equivalents, and General Theory of Conflict and Conflict Resolution. Included are such topics as arms, policies, and games; morals, missiles, and militarism; and conflict, consensus, and cooperation.Horowitz concludes that it is time to register the fact that the basic option to destructive uses of science is not traditional morality, but better science a science of survival. With a new introduction by Howard Schneiderman along with a major essay and other materials not included in the original edition, this classic work is a worthy contribution to intellectual debate in the twenty-first century and a must read for military strategists, sociologists, and historians.
War, Identity and the Liberal State: Everyday Experiences of the Geopolitical in the Armed Forces (Interventions Ser.)
by Victoria BashamThis book critically examines the significance of gender, race and sexuality to wars waged by liberal states. Drawing on original field-research with British soldiers, it offers insights into how their everyday experiences are shaped by, and shape, a politics of gender, race and sexuality that not only underpins power relations in the military, but the geopolitics of wars waged by liberal states. Linking the politics of daily life to the international is an intervention into international relations (IR) and security studies because instead of overlooking the politics of the everyday, this book insists that it is vital to explore how geopolitical events and practices are co-constituted, reinforced and contested by it. By utilising insights from Michel Foucault, the book explores how shared and collectively mediated knowledge on gender, race and sexuality facilitates certain claims about the nature of governing in liberal states and about why and how such states wage war against ‘illiberal’ ones in pursuit of global peace and security. The book also develops post-structural work in international relations by urging scholars interested in the linguistic construction of geopolitics to consider the ways in which bodies, objects and architectures also reinforce particular ideas about war, identity and statehood.
War in Europe?: From Impossible War to Improbable Peace
by Thibault MuzerguesIn this highly provocative and documented book, Thibault Muzergues describes how war in Europe is now more likely than it has been for at least the past 30 years, how it might come back to Europe and what Europeans can do to avoid getting drawn again in fratricide conflicts. Many consider Europe a continent of peace, with NATO guaranteeing its security and the EU providing the political glue for a Europe Whole and Free. But what if this was not the case anymore? What if, after a decade of crisis, today’s Europe was much more fragile than we thought? The author challenges our assumptions about peace in Europe and forces us to face the realities of a world that has become much more dangerous. Far from being apocalyptic, this book serves as an advance warning to the dangers, both internal and external that are now closing in on Europe – and suggests solutions to avoid them. This book will be key reading for those interested in European politics and history, the European Union, security, and strategic studies, and more broadly to current affairs and international relations.
War in Social Thought: Hobbes to the Present
by Hans Joas Wolfgang KnöblA sweeping history of social theories about war and peace, from Hobbes to the twenty-first centuryThis book, the first of its kind, provides a sweeping critical history of social theories about war and peace from Hobbes to the present. Distinguished social theorists Hans Joas and Wolfgang Knöbl present both a broad intellectual history and an original argument as they trace the development of thinking about war over more than 350 years—from the premodern era to the period of German idealism and the Scottish and French enlightenments, and then from the birth of sociology in the nineteenth century through the twentieth century. While focusing on social thought, the book draws on many disciplines, including philosophy, anthropology, and political science.Joas and Knöbl demonstrate the profound difficulties most social thinkers—including liberals, socialists, and those intellectuals who could be regarded as the first sociologists—had in coming to terms with the phenomenon of war, the most obvious form of large-scale social violence. With only a few exceptions, these thinkers, who believed deeply in social progress, were unable to account for war because they regarded it as marginal or archaic, and on the verge of disappearing. This overly optimistic picture of the modern world persisted in social theory even in the twentieth century, as most sociologists and social theorists either ignored war and violence in their theoretical work or tried to explain it away. The failure of the social sciences and especially sociology to understand war, Joas and Knöbl argue, must be seen as one of the greatest weaknesses of disciplines that claim to give a convincing diagnosis of our times.
War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning
by Chris Hedges<p>As a veteran war correspondent, Chris Hedges has survived ambushes in Central America, imprisonment in Sudan, and a beating by Saudi military police. He has seen children murdered for sport in Gaza and petty thugs elevated into war heroes in the Balkans. Hedges, who is also a former divinity student, has seen war at its worst and knows too well that to those who pass through it, war can be exhilarating and even addictive: “It gives us purpose, meaning, a reason for living.” <p>Drawing on his own experience and on the literature of combat from Homer to Michael Herr, Hedges shows how war seduces not just those on the front lines but entire societies—corrupting politics, destroying culture, and perverting basic human desires. Mixing hard-nosed realism with profound moral and philosophical insight, <i>War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning</i> is a work of terrible power and redemptive clarity whose truths have never been more necessary.</p>
The War Ledger
by A.F.K. Organski Jacek KuglerThe War Ledger provides fresh, sophisticated answers to fundamental questions about major modern wars: Why do major wars begin? What accounts for victory or defeat in war? How do victory and defeat influence the recovery of the combatants? Are the rules governing conflict behavior between nations the same since the advent of the nuclear era? The authors find such well-known theories as the balance of power and collective security systems inadequate to explain how conflict erupts in the international system. Their rigorous empirical analysis proves that the power-transition theory, hinging on economic, social, and political growth, is more accurate; it is the differential rate of growth of the two most powerful nations in the system—the dominant nation and the challenger—that destabilizes all members and precipitates world wars. Predictions of who will win or lose a war, the authors find, depend not only on the power potential of a nation but on the capability of its political systems to mobilize its resources—the "political capacity indicator." After examining the aftermath of major conflicts, the authors identify national growth as the determining factor in a nation's recovery. With victory, national capabilities may increase or decrease; with defeat, losses can be enormous. Unexpectedly, however, in less than two decades, losers make up for their losses and all combatants find themselves where they would have been had no war occurred. Finally, the authors address the question of nuclear arsenals. They find that these arsenals do not make the difference that is usually assumed. Nuclear weapons have not changed the structure of power on which international politics rests. Nor does the behavior of participants in nuclear confrontation meet the expectations set out in deterrence theory.
The War Lover: A Study Of Plato's Republic
by Leon Harold Craig Leon H. CraigThis new examination of the Republic begins with questions ignored by most students of this famous and much-studied dialogue. Why is Plato's most extensive portrait of philosophy pervaded with the language and imagery of war? Why is a discussion supposedly about justice almost entirely about how to educate natural warriors? Why must the philosopher-kings of Kallipolis be first of all 'champions of war'? Why is the supposedly 'feminine drama' of Book Five preoccupied with war? The pursuit of questions such as these brings Craig to an understanding of Plato's teaching about justice, philosophy, and politics that differs radically from what is generally held today. The search for why the Republic's philosophers come from the ranks of 'war lovers' leads Craig to reassess the relation between the `city in logos' and timocracy (the regime openly dedicated to war), and this reassessment in turn brings a new perspective on Plato's political thought in general. Similarly, analysis of the timocratic man leads to a deeper understanding of the psychology on which the whole dialogue is based, especially its teaching about justice and its treatment of love. Following the dialogue's hint that language provides the `tracks' of ideas, Craig compares the four distinct kinds of love that figure in the dialogue, and thereby helps clarify several puzzling issues, not the least of which is the strange kinship between the philosopher and the tyrant. And through examining the peculiar problems posed by what he argues are two distinct kinds of timocrats - exemplified by Glaukon and Adeimantos - Craig illuminates the rationale underlying both educational schemes sketched in the dialogue: the political one of Books Two and Three and the pre-philosophical one of Book Seven. One chapter explores the analogical and allegorical dimensions of Book Five, as well as its actual political implications; there Craig offers clarification of the contemporary debate about sex roles. In bringing the Republic vividly to life, Craig shows that Plato's ideas on virtually all questions of permanent interest to human beings provide a corrective to views now in vogue. The War Lover is thus as much a commentary on contemporary intellectual and political life as it is a challenging new interpretation of an ancient text.
War, Morality, and Autonomy: An Investigation in Just War Theory
by Daniel S. ZupanJust War Theory is the governing moral doctrine for all of the major democratic militaries and indeed beyond. This book is a close study of a critical component of Just War theory, the moral status of noncombatants. In this post September 11th, 2001 time of cascading unconventional or 'dirty' wars, issues of treatment of noncombatants - whether as incidental casualties during grey area operations or as prisoners swept up by preventative security measures - have resonance across national lines. Whether or not the democracies and other states pursue their national security interests within the limits of Just War reasoning and laws, or break out of these limits in prosecuting war and security measures against terrorist organizations, is one of the top security issues of the day. Zupan examines the flaws that this complex body of moral reasoning often exhibits, arguing that many of the shortcomings of Just War theory can be resolved using Kantian methodology and the theory of autonomy. According to this conception, human beings have unconditional worth which imposes moral constraints upon the actions of other human beings. From this understanding Zupan generates principles that serve as moral guidelines for the use of force which establish a presumption against harming any human being and greatly restrict the conditions under which we may justify any unintended, collateral harm that may affect those who do not intend our harm. Considering the work of moral theorists such as Onora O'Neill, T. M. Scanlon, Michael Walzer, Paul Christopher and G. E. M. Anscombe and such issues as the Doctrine of Double Effect, autonomy and supreme emergency, Zupan concludes that if we ever are justified in targeting the innocent, it will only be under very rare conditions where the innocent themselves should accept the principle that permitted their being killed.
The War of the Jesus and Darwin Fishes: Religion and Science in the Postmodern World
by John C. CaiazzaThis volume's title stems from an observable and seemingly amusing phenomenon--the placement of fish symbols on the rear of automobiles. There are two kinds: one a fish outline with a cross, exhibited by Christians; the other a fish outline filled with the word "evolution," with little legs attached underneath. These symbols manifest the cultural war between religion and science, a clash that draws from nineteenth-century conflicts over evolution roots in the Enlightenment.Today's cultural environment is a result of the internationalization of communication, labor, money, and commerce. This global culture emphasizes tolerance and acceptance of all peoples and traditions, but it also demands a moral and intellectual relativism that rejects "master narratives," including religious tradition as well as scientific theory. In some respects, the postmodern environment is caused by science itself, by the development of postmodern science, its nineteenth-century adversarial stance toward religion now somewhat softened. Among new developments are the historical understanding of science, renewed appreciation of the troubled careers of scientists, and "God" talk among physicists and psychologists. Both science and religion are being overwhelmed by new levels of technology, which is becoming the premier element of contemporary culture.The conflict between science and religion is being resolved in the form of a dynamic. Religion and science are both ways of giving moral and intellectual order to the universe, enabling mankind to cope with a chaotic universe and live well. Both religious critics and scientific researchers have attacked and analyzed pornography, which has become a prominent characteristic of our culture. Both share contemporary sensitivity to individual opinions and protection of the individual from social control. Both science and religion share a sense that postmodern culture lacks structure. Caiazza shows how renewed attention to religious and scientific insights can resolve longstanding conflicts, providing postmodern society with a vision of tolerable order.
The War Of The Lamb: The Ethics Of Nonviolence And Peacemaking
by John Howard Yoder Glen Harold Stassen Mark T. Nation Matt HamsherJohn Howard Yoder was one of the major theologians of the late twentieth century. Before his death, he planned the essays and structure of this book, which he intended to be his last work. Now two leading interpreters of Yoder bring that work to fruition. <p><p> The book is divided into three sections: pacifism, just war theory, and just peacemaking theory. The volume crystallizes Yoder's argument that his proposed ethics is not sectarian and a matter of withdrawal. He also clearly argues that Christian just war and Christian pacifist traditions are basically compatible--and more specifically, that the Christian just war tradition itself presumes against all violence.
The War of Words: A Glossary of Globalization
by Harold JamesA timely call for recovering the true meanings of the nineteenth‑century terms that are hobbling current political debates Nationalism, conservatism, liberalism, socialism, and capitalism are among the most fiercely debated ideas in contemporary politics. Since these concepts hark back to the nineteenth century, much of their nuanced meaning has been lost, and the words are most often used as epithets that short-circuit productive discussion. In this insightful book, Harold James uncovers the origins of these concepts and examines how the problematic definition and meaning of each term has become an obstacle to respectful communication. Noting that similar linguistic misunderstandings accompany such newer ideas as geopolitics, neoliberalism, technocracy, and globalism, James argues that a rich historical knowledge of the vocabulary surrounding globalization, politics, and economics—particularly the meaning and the usefulness that drove the original conceptions of the terms—is needed to negotiate the gaps between different understandings and make fruitful political debate once again possible.
The War on Science: Who's Waging It, Why It Matters, What We Can Do About It
by Shawn Lawrence Otto"Wherever the people are well informed," Thomas Jefferson wrote, "they can be trusted with their own government." But what happens when they are not? In every issue of modern society--from climate change to vaccinations, transportation to technology, health care to defense--we are in the midst of an unprecedented expansion of scientific progress and a simultaneous expansion of danger. At the very time we need them most, scientists and the idea of objective knowledge are being bombarded by a vast, well-funded, three-part war on science: the identity politics war on science, the ideological war on science, and the industrial war on science. The result is an unprecedented erosion of thought in Western democracies as voters, policymakers, and justices actively ignore the evidence from science, leaving major policy decisions to be based more on the demands of the most strident voices.Shawn Otto's compelling new book investigates the historical, social, philosophical, political, and emotional reasons why evidence-based politics are in decline and authoritarian politics are once again on the rise on both left and right, and provides some compelling solutions to bring us to our collective senses, before it's too late.
The War on Terror and the Caribbean: Schmittian Perspectives
by Emanuel QuashieThis book offers a multifaceted understanding of how the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent War on Terror affected the Caribbean.This book dives deeper into how the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent War on Terror impacted the region’s tourism industry, anti-terrorism legislation, and the banking/financial and immigration system. This book analyzes the US-led War on Terror through a broader conceptual lens, i.e., using two Schmittian perspectives (the friend–enemy and the sovereign in times of exception), which offers an opportunity for the methodological interpretation of Bush’s counterterrorism policy to give a novel conceptual understanding of the War on Terror in relation to the Caribbean. Thus, this book offers a nuanced and novel perspective on the subject matter.This book will be of much interest to students studying about terrorism, Caribbean studies, political theory, and international relations.
War, Peace, And Alliance In Demosthenes' Athens
by Peter HuntEvery Athenian alliance, every declaration of war, and every peace treaty was instituted by a decision of the assembly, where citizens voted after listening to speeches that presented varied and often opposing arguments about the best course of action. The fifteen preserved assembly speeches of the mid-fourth century BC thus provide an unparalleled body of evidence for the way that Athenians thought and felt about interstate relations: to understand this body of oratory is to understand how the Athenians of that period made decisions about war and peace. This is the first book to provide a comprehensive treatment of this subject. It deploys insights from a range of fields, from anthropology to international relations theory, in order not only to describe Athenian thinking, but also to explain it. Athenian thinking turns out to have been complex, sophisticated, and surprisingly familiar both in its virtues and its flaws.
The War Power in an Age of Terrorism
by Michael A. Genovese David Gray AdlerThis book features a lively debate between two prominent scholars--Michael A. Genovese and David Gray Adler--on the critical issue of whether the Constitution, written in the 18th Century, remains adequate to the national security challenges of our time. The question of the scope of the president's constitutional authority--if any--to initiate war on behalf of the American people, long the subject of heated debate in the corridors of power and the groves of academe, has become an issue of surpassing importance for a nation confronted by existential threats in an Age of Terrorism. This question should be thoroughly reviewed and debated by members of Congress, and considered by all Americans before they are asked to go to war. If the constitutional allocation of powers on matters of war and peace is outdated, what changes should be made? Is there a need to increase presidential power? What role should Congress play in the war on terror?
War Powers: How the Imperial Presidency Hijacked the Constitution
by Peter IronsPeter Irons is a well known political and legal historian at University of California San Diego. His latest work traces the rise of the imperial presidency and how it has trumped Congress's constitutional power of declaring war. Irons sees this as a dangerous usurption of Congress's powers, and a drift towards militarism and an unaccountable presidency.