The Imperial Presidency and American Politics Governance by Edicts and Coups

Praise for The Imperial Presidency and American Politics

The modern presidency seems to be out of control-powerful, unilateral, and, ultimately, destabilizing to the political system. In this provocative and engaging book, Benjamin Ginsberg diagnoses these long-term developments and treats Donald Trump's presidency as emblematic of, rather than a departure from, the disturbing trends of presidentialization, bureaucratic in-fighting and legal warfare, and the overall decline of democratic control over national government.

--Douglas B. Harris, Loyola University Maryland

A giant in the field of institutional politics, Benjamin Ginsberg once again delivers a highly insightful and engaging work. The book shines a light on the growing and largely unchecked power of the U.S. presidency. This is a must-read for scholars and citizens alike who are concerned about the future of American democracy.

--Jennifer Bachner, Johns Hopkins University

Ginsberg brings together the fascination with Trump and the imperial presidency to lay out a driving narrative about the nature of American governance as it has evolved in recent decades to become ever-more presidency-centered. He has elegantly distilled this as "the politics of edicts and coups." Yet this is not simply a polemical work. Ginsberg parses the component elements that have brought the country to this point, examining battles over the bureaucracy, the role of law enforcement/security agencies, and consistently pro-executive court rulings. Ginsberg's end point is as sober as it is significant: that the American system is about power, not democracy.

--Robert J Spitzer, SUNY Cortland