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Historical Set Points and the Development of U.S. Presidential Emergency Power

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2013

Daniel J. Tichenor
Daniel J. Tichenor*
Affiliation:
Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics
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Abstract

The recent outpouring of work on executive power during emergencies, inspired by the post-9/11 era, has significantly enhanced our legal and theoretical understanding of this crucial subject. A key flaw in this literature, however, is that it is historically un-rooted, either dismissing or ignoring important analytical and empirical insights from presidential research and from APD and historical-institutionalist perspectives. In this article, I argue that we can better explain patterns and variations in the use of presidential emergency power by paying careful attention to shifting historical set points for executive choice and action during security crises. In particular, the findings here underscore the episodic growth of new precedents, resources, and expectations for the White House in perilous contexts. The development of presidential emergency power reflects the potential for early executive choices to be repeated and legitimated over time, laying dormant as a “loaded weapon” to be used by future executives in similarly urgent circumstances.

Type
Research Article
Information
Perspectives on Politics , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , September 2013 , pp. 769 - 788
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2013 

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