The Myth of the Imperial Presidency

"Many have long decried the dramatic expansion of presidential unilateral power since the New Deal and World War II. The Republicans complained about Barack Obama's use of executive orders on issues dealing with the environment and immigration among other areas while Democrats and many Republicans object to Donald Trump's use of executive authority in areas like trade and to build his wall on the border with Mexico. However, the most perplexing question is what can explain the relative paucity, not the proliferation, of unilateral actions. In this book the authors look at the role of public opinion and the political costs that might follow unilateral action as constraints on presidents. The authors argue that public opinion-not formal checks by Congress and the courts-serves as the primary constraint on the unilateral executive"--