Critical of Presidency, Prof. Ginsberg and Crenson unite
Matthew Crenson and Benjamin Ginsberg, professors of political science at Hopkins, recently collaborated on a book critisizing the changing role of the U.S. presidency.
Presidential Power: Unchecked and Unbalanced, is the second book the professors have written together. The goal of the book is to open the public's eye to the presidency's gradual deterioration, over the course of history, into an imperialistic power.
"Each president is worse than the one before," Ginsberg said.
Presidential Power: Unchecked and Unbalanced was written as a sequel to their first coauthored book, Downsizing Democracy: How America Sidelined Its Citizens and Privatized Its Public, in which Ginsberg and Crenson discussed the implications of reduced public participation in politics. However this new work takes their arguments one step further and paints for the reader a bleak picture in which presidents slowly but surely gain more and more power with both the public at large and other political institutions doing nothing to prevent it.
Crenson and Ginsberg decided to jointly write this new book not only because of the recent abuse of the executive office by the Bush administration but also because the recent trend of presidents gaining power needed to be brought to light.
"This has been building now for at least 50 years," Ginsberg said. What's more, the two felt that because they differ on many points, coauthoring this work would lead to a more balanced analysis.
"We don't expect to agree with one another," Crenson said.
"Because we disagree on things it helps us take a step back from our own beliefs," Ginsberg said.
Structured like a homicide case file with the motives, means and opportunities presidents have had to gain power, the two professors analyze recent presidencies with a desire to alert the public to the dangers that lie ahead.
"We want people to be warned," Ginsberg said.
The book begins with a thorough review of the actions that have led up to what Crenson and Ginsberg have labeled "presidential imperialism." The professors discuss the various opportunities that presidents of recent years have had to increase their power, including legislative neglect and the diminished role of political parties in creating presidents.
Presidential Power: Unchecked and Unbalanced, is the second book the professors have written together. The goal of the book is to open the public's eye to the presidency's gradual deterioration, over the course of history, into an imperialistic power.
"Each president is worse than the one before," Ginsberg said.
Presidential Power: Unchecked and Unbalanced was written as a sequel to their first coauthored book, Downsizing Democracy: How America Sidelined Its Citizens and Privatized Its Public, in which Ginsberg and Crenson discussed the implications of reduced public participation in politics. However this new work takes their arguments one step further and paints for the reader a bleak picture in which presidents slowly but surely gain more and more power with both the public at large and other political institutions doing nothing to prevent it.
Crenson and Ginsberg decided to jointly write this new book not only because of the recent abuse of the executive office by the Bush administration but also because the recent trend of presidents gaining power needed to be brought to light.
"This has been building now for at least 50 years," Ginsberg said. What's more, the two felt that because they differ on many points, coauthoring this work would lead to a more balanced analysis.
"We don't expect to agree with one another," Crenson said.
"Because we disagree on things it helps us take a step back from our own beliefs," Ginsberg said.
Structured like a homicide case file with the motives, means and opportunities presidents have had to gain power, the two professors analyze recent presidencies with a desire to alert the public to the dangers that lie ahead.
"We want people to be warned," Ginsberg said.
The book begins with a thorough review of the actions that have led up to what Crenson and Ginsberg have labeled "presidential imperialism." The professors discuss the various opportunities that presidents of recent years have had to increase their power, including legislative neglect and the diminished role of political parties in creating presidents.
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