The Weaponization of the Presidency

Catalog description

This seminar will examine the history of the weaponization of the presidency from the 1790s to contemporary times. We will examine how the growth of the state and of executive power more generally fostered weaponization; how weaponization was constrained in various periods in American history, especially in post-Watergate reforms; the analytical foundations of contemporary weaponization, especially in the unitary executive; how contemporary weaponization compares to past weaponization; and how if at all presidential weaponization can and should be reformed. Grades will be based on attendance, class participation and 5000 words of writing that can be allocated either among three reaction papers (one for each session) or one 5000 word non-research paper at the end based on class readings.