Many scholars have ignored the concept of ‘national interest†simply because no logical, systematic means of dealing with this key aspect of international politics has been available. A new approach to defining national interest forms the basis for this study of presidential decisions on U.S. involvement in foreign wars. Professor Nuechterlein looks at various crisis situations to determine what defense, economic, world order, and ideological interests are at stake; he identifies sixteen cost/risk and value factors that affect the U.S. view of which interest is most vital in a given situation. In any dispute, it is the interest that is considered vital—too important to compromise—that is the key element in crisis decisions. Professor Nuechterlein uses his analytical framework to examine the ways Presidents Wilson, Roosevelt, Truman, Johnson, and Nixon perceived the national interest when making their decisions to begin or extend U.S. war involvement. He assesses the value of National Security Council participation in the decision-making process and presents case-study analyses of three imminent U.S. foreign policy concerns—Quebec’s possible separation from Canada, the Panama Canal Treaty, and the potential for race war in South Africa—with an epilogue on the challenges facing Carter. The author suggests that the most important U.S. national interest in the future will be economic, with energy conservation a top priority.

How presidents forged the American century This book examines the foreign policy decisions of the presidents who presided over the most critical phases of America's rise to world primacy in the twentieth century, and assesses the effectiveness and ethics of their choices. Joseph Nye, who was ranked as one of Foreign Policy magazine’s 100 Top Global Thinkers, reveals how some presidents tried with varying success to forge a new international order while others sought to manage America’s existing position. The book shows how transformational presidents like Wilson and Reagan changed how America sees the world, but argues that transactional presidents like Eisenhower and the elder Bush were sometimes more effective and ethical. It also draws important lessons for today’s uncertain world, in which presidential decision making is more critical than ever.

In this expanded third edition, renowned scholar Stephen Skowronek, addresses Donald J. Trump’s presidency. Skowronek’s insights have fundamentally altered our understanding of the American presidency. His “political time” thesis has been particularly influential, revealing how presidents reckon with the work of their predecessors, situate their power within recent political events, and assert their authority in the service of change. A classic widely used in courses on the presidency, Skowronek’s book has greatly expanded our understanding of and debates over the politics of leadership. It clarifies the typical political problems that presidents confront in political time, as well as the likely effects of their working through them, and considers contemporary innovations in our political system that bear on the leadership patterns from the more distant past. Drawing out parallels in the politics of leadership between Andrew Jackson and Franklin Roosevelt and between James Polk and John Kennedy, it develops a new and revealing perspective on the presidential leadership of Clinton, Bush, Obama, and now Trump. In this third edition Skowronek carefully examines the impact of recent developments in government and politics on traditional leadership postures and their enactment, given the current divided state of the American polity, the impact of the twenty-four-hour news cycle, of a more disciplined and homogeneous Republican party, of conservative advocacy of the “unitary theory” of the executive, and of progressive disillusionment with the presidency as an institution. A provocative review of presidential history, Skowronek’s book brims with fresh insights and opens a window on the institution of the executive office and the workings of the American political system as a whole. Intellectually satisfying for scholars, it also provides an accessible volume for students and general readers interested in the American presidency.

"The extraordinary nature of the Trump presidency has spawned a resurgence in the study of the presidency and a rising concern about the power of the office. In Power Shifts: Congress and Presidential Representation, John Dearborn explores the development of the idea of the representative presidency, that the president alone is elected by a national constituency, and thus the only part of government who can represent the nation against the parochial concerns of members of Congress, and its relationship to the growth of presidential power in the 20th century. Dearborn asks why Congress conceded so much power to the Chief Executive, with the support of particularly conservative members of the Supreme Court. He discusses the debates between Congress and the Executive and the arguments offered by politicians, scholars, and members of the judiciary about the role of the president in the American state. He asks why so many bought into the idea of the representative, and hence, strong presidency despite unpopular wars, failed foreign policies, and parochial actions that favor only the president's supporters. This is a book about the power of ideas in the development of the American state"--

A collection of compelling analyses by eminent scholars, Presidential Leadership: The Vortex of Power looks at presidential leadership from a variety of perspectives, integrating cutting-edge research on both the incentives and the constraints presidents face in their attempts to lead the country. These original readings contextualize presidential leadership in relation to Congress, the courts, the bureaucracy, the media, and the public. Furthermore, the essays include discussions on executive decision making and both domestic and national security issues.

Examines the impact of medical and psychological illness on foreign policy decision making. Illness provides specific, predictable, and recognizable shifts in attention, time perspective, cognitive capacity, judgment, and emotion, which systematically affect impaired leaders. In particular, this book discusses the ways in which processes related to aging, physical and psychological illness, and addiction influence decision making. This book provides detailed analysis of four cases among the American presidency. Woodrow Wilson's October 1919 stroke affected his behavior during the Senate fight over ratifying the League of Nations. Franklin Roosevelt's severe coronary disease influenced his decisions concerning the conduct of war in the Pacific from 1943–1945 in particular. John Kennedy's illnesses and treatments altered his behavior at the 1961 Vienna conference with Soviet Premier Khrushchev. And Nixon's psychological impairments biased his decisions regarding the covert bombing of Cambodia in 1969–1970.

Setting the tone for the collection, NASA chief historian Roger D. Launius and Howard McCurdy maintain that the nation's presidency had become imperial by the mid-1970s and that supporters of the space program had grown to find relief in such a presidency, which they believed could help them obtain greater political support and funding. Subsequent chapters explore the roles and political leadership, vis-à-vis government policy, of presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan.

Examines the history of the office of national security in the United States from its inception, describing how the role of the national security advisor to the president has evolved between the 1950s and 2000s, and discusses the influence of the national security advisor on the commander in chief's decisions.

This study aims to demonstrate that presidents are persistent agents of change, continually disrupting and transforming the political landscape. The politics of the "third way" is also discussed in relation to Bill Clinton's political strategies.

From the former prime minister of Denmark comes an impassioned plea to persuade Americans to elect a president who will restore America to its proper role of global leader, instead of "leading from behind." Anders Fogh Rasmussen is unabashedly pro-American, a fierce defender of freedom, and a public figure unafraid to speak his mind. The Will to Lead is his defense of American leadership in the global struggle for freedom and democracy. A critic of President Barack Obama’s policy of "leading from behind" in foreign affairs, Rasmussen argues that this strategy has emboldened Russia and China—and made the world more dangerous and unstable in the past eight years. Rasmussen reviews current geopolitical events—the Arab Spring, the Iranian nuclear deal, the Russian annexation of Crimea and invasion of Ukraine—and critically analyzes the strategy and decision-making of Obama and his secretaries of state John Kerry and Hillary Clinton. Contrasting them with previous American leaders, Rasmussen argues that, like it or not, America is the world’s indispensable world leader—and must act as the world’s policeman. Rasmussen looks to past presidents Truman, Kennedy, and Reagan to identify the indispensable components of presidential leadership on the global stage, and shares his personal assessments of leaders he has come to know personally, including George W. Bush, Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel, Tony Blair, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton. Most important, he offers a bold plan for a strengthened American and European alliance, joined by like-minded liberal democracies such as Japan and Australia, to create a military, political, and economic bulwark against the forces of tyranny. Hard-hitting yet fair, drawn from history and his own experience, The Will to Lead is a thoughtful contribution to American politics, full of wisdom, for politically involved Americans on either side of the aisle.