Presidential Power

"Presidential power is perhaps one of the most central issues in the study of the American presidency. Since Richard E. Neustadt's classic text, first published in 1960, there has not been a book that so thoroughly considers the subject. Presidential Power: Theories and Dilemmas by noted scholar John P. Burke provides an updated and comprehensive look at presidential power--past, present, and future. Burke examines and analyzes the core, underlying dilemma of presidential power--how presidents exert influence in our system of separate but shared powers--through the prism of the major theories of presidential power. These include Neustadt's classic theory of persuasion and bargaining, Samuel Kernell's "going public" theory, and the various cycles of historical time and internal time. Using illustrative examples from historical and contemporary presidencies, Burke illuminates and contextualizes these theories in a way that allows students to better understand how presidents exercise power over the legislative and policymaking processes to achieve their goals"--