Restoring the Balance: War Powers in an Age of Terror

by Seth Weinberger

Overview

Since 9/11, one of the most dominant issues in American politics has been: what exactly is a war on terror and who is in charge of it? Previous books on this topic have fallen off the horse on either side: on the right, making military actions under the Bush administration equal to previous declared wars and ceding too much war-making power to the presidency or on the left, requiring congressional approval for any national security steps at all, contradicting much of American historical precedent. Weinberger presents a novel understanding of the Declare War clause of the Constitution (Article 1, Section 8), filtering it through the AUMFs passed by Congress since 9/11 and concluding that the Presidency has wide latitude and autonomy in the overseas theaters, but not on the domestic front.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798216138976
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	08/10/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	196
File size:	702 KB
Age Range:	7 - 17 Years

About the Author

Seth Weinberger is Assistant Professor at the University of Puget Sound. He teaches courses on international relations, U.S. foreign policy, international security, terrorism, constitutional law, and political philosophy. He has also spent several weeks in Israel and the Palestinian Territories in 2007 as a fellow with the Defense of Democracies, studying how Israel deals with similar issues.
Seth Weinberger is Assistant Professor at the University of Puget Sound. He teaches courses on international relations, U.S. foreign policy, international security, terrorism, constitutional law, and political philosophy. He has also spent several weeks in Israel and the Palestinian Territories in 2007 as a fellow with the Defense of Democracies, studying how Israel deals with similar issues.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
1. Upsetting the Balance
2. The Meaning of the Declare War Clause
3. The Deployment of the Armed Forces and Initiation of Hostilities
4. Domestic Warrantless Surveillance by the National Security Agency
5. The Detention and Trials of Suspected Terrorists
6. Restoring the Balance
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

Francis Fukuyama

"Seth Weinberger points the way to a sensible middle ground on the issue of war powers, arguing that while Presidents do have substantial authority to deploy force, Congress has not delegated powers of domestic surveillance and other potential abridgements of rights through its post-September 11 authorizations to use military force. In doing so, he adds clarity to a tortured debate."
— Francis Fukuyama, Professor of International Political Economy, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies

Christopher Hitchens

"In reminding us that Madison wanted Ôambition to counteract ambition' as the basis of our separation of powers, Seth Weinberger has done a signal service by navigating between the twin shoals of faction on the one hand and appeals to a spurious Ôunity' on the other."
— Christopher Hitchens, author of "Thomas Jefferson: Author of America

Mark Tushnet

"Professor Weinberger provides a well-argued defense of a novel approach to the constitutional division of authority between President and Congress over war and its domestic effects. His argument should become a major reference point in discussions of the Constitution's application to modern war-making."

— Mark Tushnet, Harvard Law School

Editorial Reviews

The history of the 20th century indicates that the US is moving toward a system of war powers in which the president does whatever he (so far) wants, and neither the legislative nor the judicial branch can do diddly squat about it. Weinberger (politics and government, U. of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington) finds a few problems with that system, which he rehearses people who do not. His main concern however is with mechanisms and criteria for establishing a theory and a functioning system to rebalance war powers among the branches of government. He examines the meaning of the declare war clause, the deployment of the armed forces and initiation of hostilities, domestic warrantless surveillance by the National Security Agency, and the detention and trials of suspected terrorists.” —Reference & Research Book News

“Weinberger's brilliantly clever and largely persuasive book cuts through hardened dogmas on the issue. . . . Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.” —Choice

From the Publisher