Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Madison's Nightmare: How Executive Power Threatens American Democracy
    Madison's Nightmare: How Executive Power Threatens American Democracy
    Madison's Nightmare: How Executive Power Threatens American Democracy
    Ebook246 pages6 hours

    Madison's Nightmare: How Executive Power Threatens American Democracy

    By Peter M. Shane

    3/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    The George W. Bush administration’s ambitious—even breathtaking—claims of unilateral executive authority raised deep concerns among constitutional scholars, civil libertarians, and ordinary citizens alike. But Bush’s attempts to assert his power are only the culmination of a near-thirty-year assault on the basic checks and balances of the U.S. government—a battle waged by presidents of both parties, and one that, as Peter M. Shane warns in Madison’s Nightmare, threatens to utterly subvert the founders’ vision of representative government.

    Tracing this tendency back to the first Reagan administration, Shane shows how this era of "aggressive presidentialism" has seen presidents exerting ever more control over nearly every arena of policy, from military affairs and national security to domestic programs. Driven by political ambition and a growing culture of entitlement in the executive branch—and abetted by a complaisant Congress, riven by partisanship—this presidential aggrandizement has too often undermined wise policy making and led to shallow, ideological, and sometimes outright lawless decisions. The solution, Shane argues, will require a multipronged program of reform, including both specific changes in government practice and broader institutional changes aimed at supporting a renewed culture of government accountability.

    From the war on science to the mismanaged war on terror, Madison’s Nightmare outlines the disastrous consequences of the unchecked executive—and issues a stern wake-up call to all who care about the fate of our long democratic experiment.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press
    Release dateAug 1, 2009
    ISBN9780226749426
    Madison's Nightmare: How Executive Power Threatens American Democracy

    Related to Madison's Nightmare

    Related ebooks

    American Government For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Not-So-Supreme Court

      Sep 25, 2019

      The Not-So-Supreme Court
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Enemy Within

      Nov 12, 2019

      The Enemy Within
      7 min read

    • Article

      Republics Large and Small

      Aug 4, 2021

      In the beginning, the American Revolution was about liberty. To the Americans, as to their ideological mentors, the radical English Whigs, liberty was the antithesis and eternal antagonist of power. Power meant simply control over the lives of one’s

      19 min read

    • Article

      Slavery Did Not Die Honestly

      Oct 21, 2015

      Slavery Did Not Die Honestly
      7 min read

    • Article

      Is America’s Media Divide Destroying Democracy?

      Apr 16, 2019

      Separate media spheres create separate realities – and a challenge for unity. Seventh in our “Democracy Under Strain” series.

      10 min read

    • Article

      Donald Trump's Civil War

      Oct 2, 2019

      "If Democrats are successful in removing the president from office (which they never will be), it will cause a Civil War like fracture in this Nation from which our Country will never heal." -- Donald Trump, roughly quoting Robert Jeffress, a conserv

      2 min read

    • Article

      Introduction: Populism, Self-Government, and Liberty

      Aug 4, 2021

      Populist and neoliberal are epithets: anyone who uses one of these terms as a description doesn’t belong to the group being described. The more extreme stand-ins— socialist for the Left and fascist for the Right—are hyperbolic and hackneyed, so popul

      15 min read

    • Article

      How We Came Together

      Jun 1, 2020

      How We Came Together
      5 min read

    • Article

      Get Hooked

      Jul 7, 2021

      Richard J Evans’s three-volume history – The Coming of the Third Reich(2004),The Third Reich in Power (2005) and The Third Reich at War (2008) – offers a definitive account of the rise and fall of Nazi Germany. The much-acclaimed series explores Hitl

      1 min read

    • Article

      Roe Is the New Prohibition

      Jun 27, 2022

      Roe Is the New Prohibition
      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Madison's Nightmare

    3/5

    1 rating0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Madison's Nightmare - Peter M. Shane

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1