Restoring the Balance: War Powers in an Age of Terror

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

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.

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 *

Author Bio

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.