The Decline and Fall of the American Republic

by Bruce Ackerman

Overview

Bruce Ackerman shows how the institutional dynamics of the last half-century have transformed the American presidency into a potential platform for political extremism and lawlessness. Watergate, Iran-Contra, and the War on Terror are only symptoms of deeper pathologies. ­Ackerman points to a series of developments that have previously been treated independently of one another—from the rise of presidential primaries, to the role of pollsters and media gurus, to the centralization of power in White House czars, to the politicization of the military, to the manipulation of constitutional doctrine to justify presidential power-grabs. He shows how these different transformations can interact to generate profound constitutional crises in the twenty-first century—and then proposes a series of reforms that will minimize, if not eliminate, the risks going forward.

The book aims to begin a new constitutional debate. Americans should not suppose that Barack Obama’s centrism and constitutionalism will typify the presidencies of the twenty-first century. We should seize the present opportunity to confront deeper institutional pathologies before it is too late.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674725843
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	09/02/2013
Series:	The Tanner Lectures on Human Values , #6
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Bruce Ackerman is Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University and the award-winning author of eighteen books, including Social Justice in the Liberal State and his multivolume constitutional history We the People. His book The Stakeholder Society (written with Anne Alstott) served as a basis for Tony Blair’s introduction of child investment accounts in the United Kingdom. He contributes frequently to the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. Ackerman is a member of the American Law Institute and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the recipient of the American Philosophical Society’s Henry M. Phillips Prize for lifetime achievement in jurisprudence.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Triumphalism 1

Part 1 The Most Dangerous Branch

1 An Extremist Presidency 15

2 The Politicized Military 43

Part 2 The Question of Legitimacy

3 Three Crises 67

4 Executive Constitutionalism 87

Part 3 Reconstruction

5 Enlightening Politics 119

6 Restoring the Rule of Law 141

Conclusion: Living Dangerously 181

Notes 189

Acknowledgments 259

Index 261

What People are Saying About This

Joyce Appleby

Alarmist or alarming, The Decline and Fall of the American Republic, is a serious attention-getter. Bruce Ackerman has adroitly woven recent changes in our institutional arrangements into a provocative argument that the expanding powers of the 21st century presidency have put our constitutional order at risk.
— Joyce Appleby, UCLA, author of The Relentless Revolution

Benjamin R. Barber

At once audacious and plain spoken, Ackerman offers a fierce critique of democracy's most dangerous adversary: the abuse of democratic power by democratically elected chief executives."
— Benjamin R. Barber, Demos, author of Jihad vs. McWorld and Consumed

Geoffrey R. Stone

In The Decline and Fall of the American Republic, Bruce Ackerman, one of our nation's most thoughtful and most influential constitutional theorists, sounds the alarm about the dangers posed by our ever-expanding executive authority. Those who care about the future of our nation should pay careful heed to Ackerman's warning, as well as to his prescriptions for avoiding a constitutional disaster.
— Geoffrey R. Stone, University of Chicago Law School, author of Perilous Times

Editorial Reviews

Bruce Ackerman’s The Decline and Fall of the American Republic is a profoundly important constitutional wake-up call. It presents a powerful, multi-layered, yet highly accessible argument that the body politic faces the serious and unprecedented structural risk of presidential extremism and lawlessness—and a series of new checks and balances that offer the rare combination of pragmatism and originality. One hopes that the book will receive its just deserts by provoking a vigorous new constitutional debate not only among fellow academics but also, more importantly, among We the People.

Balkinization (blog) - Stephen Gardbaum

Alarmist or alarming, The Decline and Fall of the American Republic is a serious attention-getter. Bruce Ackerman has adroitly woven recent changes in our institutional arrangements into a provocative argument that the expanding powers of the twenty-first-century presidency have put our constitutional order at risk.

Joyce Appleby

The nature of the power embodied in the U.S. presidency has evolved over the years, and if Bruce Ackerman’s The Decline and Fall of the American Republic is right, the results of that evolution are unfortunate. The contemporary view that tends to see the president as the center of our country’s government and the locus of its political power is something new and quite different from what was intended by the founders. Ackerman, a professor of law and political science at Yale who has written more than a dozen books on American politics, makes clear that his fear is not that the nation is in imminent danger of ceasing to exist as a country. What seems more likely is that its distinctively republican form of government could be lost, crushed under the weight of an unbalanced political structure. In particular, Ackerman worries that the office of the presidency will continue to grow in political influence in the coming years, opening possibilities for abuse of power if not outright despotism.

Boston Globe - Troy Jollimore

At once audacious and plain spoken, Ackerman offers a fierce critique of democracy’s most dangerous adversary: the abuse of democratic power by democratically elected chief executives.

Benjamin R. Barber

In The Decline and Fall of the American Republic, Bruce Ackerman, one of our nation’s most thoughtful and most influential constitutional theorists, sounds the alarm about the dangers posed by our ever-expanding executive authority. Those who care about the future of our nation should pay careful heed to Ackerman’s warning, as well as to his prescriptions for avoiding a constitutional disaster.

Geoffrey R. Stone

Ackerman makes a powerful case that the Executive’s reach has expanded by leaps and bounds over the last half century, due to factors internal and external to the presidency itself… The questions he raises regarding the threat of the American Executive to the republic are daunting. This fascinating book does an admirable job of laying them out.

The Rumpus - Bezalel Stern

In his extraordinary new book, The Decline and Fall of the American Republic, Bruce Ackerman begins, quite literally, by condemning the ‘triumphalism’ that surrounds most discussion of the Constitution… I certainly agree that he has identified a genuine problem with our polity, and I admire him, not for the first time, in having the willingness to speak in tones that many of his more moderate and ‘reasonable’ colleagues in the legal academy will undoubtedly dismiss as overwrought.

Balkinization (blog) - Sandy Levinson

Ackerman’s central contention is right on target—our constitutional system is in grave difficulty. He points to the right evidence, a recurrent series of crises linked to the exercise of presidential power: Watergate, Iran-Contra, and the illegalities of the Bush II administration. These crises must be taken seriously as objects of analysis as they are central to a proper understanding of where we stand. Ackerman is also right to claim that the constitutional triumphalism so pervasive in our political culture has gone stale.

Balkinization (blog) - Stephen Griffin

The persuasiveness of [Ackerman’s] individual points varies, but the overall view is rather compelling.

Matthew Yglesiasn Prospect

Ackerman must be commended for the honesty and directness of his defense of constitutionalism, irrespective of the ‘sensitivities’ he quite obviously offends… The book has already made a significant impact in America where it has generated a robust debate over the ‘renewal’ of U.S. constitutionalism.

Modern Law Review - Emilios Christodoulidis

The persuasiveness of [Ackerman’s] individual points varies, but the overall view is rather compelling.

American Prospect - Matthew Yglesias

Ackerman (The Failure of the Founding Fathers) makes an academic yet mostly accessible argument against the "triumphalist" (a "Johnny-come-lately to the legal scene") attitude of American constitutionalists on both sides of the political divide and suggests that this signals a dangerous complacency. Ackerman, a triumphalist himself, elaborates on themes developed by Arthur Schlesinger in The Imperial Presidency to warn, "The triumphs of the presidency in the past have prepared the way for a grim future," citing "the decisive triumph of the presidential primacy and caucus system (1972)" for opening the door "for extremists candidates to win major party nominations." Ackerman also tackles more commonly accepted criticisms, like the use of sound bites and polls, and the presidential reliance on signing statements to nullify laws, and sees the de facto inclusion of the military as part of civilian government, as well as the enhanced role of White House staffers (including the National Security Advisor, a position not ratified by the Senate) as symptoms of a government in desperate need of reform. As part of Harvard's "Tanner Lectures on Human Values," Ackerman's effort will appeal most to serious scholars of constitutional law. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Ackerman makes a powerful case that the Executive’s reach has expanded by leaps and bounds over the last half century, due to factors internal and external to the presidency itself… The questions he raises regarding the threat of the American Executive to the republic are daunting. This fascinating book does an admirable job of laying them out.
-- Bezalel Stern The Rumpus

The nature of the power embodied in the U.S. presidency has evolved over the years, and if Bruce Ackerman’s The Decline and Fall of the American Republic is right, the results of that evolution are unfortunate. The contemporary view that tends to see the president as the center of our country’s government and the locus of its political power is something new and quite different from what was intended by the founders. Ackerman, a professor of law and political science at Yale who has written more than a dozen books on American politics, makes clear that his fear is not that the nation is in imminent danger of ceasing to exist as a country. What seems more likely is that its distinctively republican form of government could be lost, crushed under the weight of an unbalanced political structure. In particular, Ackerman worries that the office of the presidency will continue to grow in political influence in the coming years, opening possibilities for abuse of power if not outright despotism.
-- Troy Jollimore Boston Globe

Ackerman must be commended for the honesty and directness of his defense of constitutionalism, irrespective of the ‘sensitivities’ he quite obviously offends… The book has already made a significant impact in America where it has generated a robust debate over the ‘renewal’ of U.S. constitutionalism.
-- Emilios Christodoulidis Modern Law Review

The persuasiveness of [Ackerman’s] individual points varies, but the overall view is rather compelling.
-- Matthew Yglesias American Prospect

In his extraordinary new book, The Decline and Fall of the American Republic, Bruce Ackerman begins, quite literally, by condemning the ‘triumphalism’ that surrounds most discussion of the Constitution… I certainly agree that he has identified a genuine problem with our polity, and I admire him, not for the first time, in having the willingness to speak in tones that many of his more moderate and ‘reasonable’ colleagues in the legal academy will undoubtedly dismiss as overwrought.
-- Sandy Levinson Balkinization (blog)

Bruce Ackerman’s The Decline and Fall of the American Republic is a profoundly important constitutional wake-up call. It presents a powerful, multi-layered, yet highly accessible argument that the body politic faces the serious and unprecedented structural risk of presidential extremism and lawlessness—and a series of new checks and balances that offer the rare combination of pragmatism and originality. One hopes that the book will receive its just deserts by provoking a vigorous new constitutional debate not only among fellow academics but also, more importantly, among We the People.
-- Stephen Gardbaum Balkinization (blog)

Ackerman’s central contention is right on target—our constitutional system is in grave difficulty. He points to the right evidence, a recurrent series of crises linked to the exercise of presidential power: Watergate, Iran-Contra, and the illegalities of the Bush II administration. These crises must be taken seriously as objects of analysis as they are central to a proper understanding of where we stand. Ackerman is also right to claim that the constitutional triumphalism so pervasive in our political culture has gone stale.
-- Stephen Griffin Balkinization (blog)

Alarmist or alarming, The Decline and Fall of the American Republic is a serious attention-getter. Bruce Ackerman has adroitly woven recent changes in our institutional arrangements into a provocative argument that the expanding powers of the twenty-first-century presidency have put our constitutional order at risk.
-- Joyce Appleby, University of California, Los Angeles, author of The Relentless Revolution

At once audacious and plain spoken, Ackerman offers a fierce critique of democracy’s most dangerous adversary: the abuse of democratic power by democratically elected chief executives.
-- Benjamin R. Barber, Demos, author of Jihad vs. McWorld and Consumed

In The Decline and Fall of the American Republic, Bruce Ackerman, one of our nation’s most thoughtful and most influential constitutional theorists, sounds the alarm about the dangers posed by our ever-expanding executive authority. Those who care about the future of our nation should pay careful heed to Ackerman’s warning, as well as to his prescriptions for avoiding a constitutional disaster.
-- Geoffrey R. Stone, University of Chicago Law School, author of Perilous Times

From the Publisher

The persuasiveness of [Ackerman's] individual points varies, but the overall view is rather compelling.
— Matthew Yglesias

American Prospect

The nature of the power embodied in the U.S. presidency has evolved over the years, and if Bruce Ackerman's The Decline and Fall of the American Republic is right, the results of that evolution are unfortunate. The contemporary view that tends to see the president as the center of our country's government and the locus of its political power is something new and quite different from what was intended by the founders. Ackerman, a professor of law and political science at Yale who has written more than a dozen books on American politics, makes clear that his fear is not that the nation is in imminent danger of ceasing to exist as a country. What seems more likely is that its distinctively republican form of government could be lost, crushed under the weight of an unbalanced political structure. In particular, Ackerman worries that the office of the presidency will continue to grow in political influence in the coming years, opening possibilities for abuse of power if not outright despotism.
— Troy Jollimore

Boston Globe

In his extraordinary new book, The Decline and Fall of the American Republic, Bruce Ackerman begins, quite literally, by condemning the "triumphalism" that surrounds most discussion of the Constitution...I certainly agree that he has identified a genuine problem with our polity, and I admire him, not for the first time, in having the willingness to speak in tones that many of his more moderate and "reasonable" colleagues in the legal academy will undoubtedly dismiss as overwrought.
— Sandy Levinson

Balkinization blog

Ackerman makes a powerful case that the Executive's reach has expanded by leaps and bounds over the last half century, due to factors internal and external to the presidency itself...The questions he raises regarding the threat of the American Executive to the republic are daunting. This fascinating book does an admirable job of laying them out.
— Bezalel Stern

The Rumpus