The LawPresidential Studies, Behavioralism, and Public Law

Abstract

Since the rise of the behavioralist revolution in the 1950s and 1960s the political science discipline has struggled to find agreement on a uniform vision of the study of politics, particularly as it relates to the employment of methods. This article addresses behavioralism's influence on the decline of public law analysis in the field of presidential studies. Specifically, it focuses on the work of presidential scholars Edward Corwin and Richard Neustadt in highlighting the changes to the study of the presidency. Attention is also paid to the decline of normative types of public law analysis. The article concludes with a call for greater acceptance, and practice, of public law analysis.

Could President Trump Rely on Legal Advice to Order the Offensive Use of Military Force at His Discretion?

“…In the other camp, scholars emphasize the need to set limits on executive power, holding the president accountable to the rule of law (Farrier 2016; Fisher 2014; Pfiffner 2008; Pyle and Pious 2010; Sollenberger 2014). These scholars are sometimes pejoratively described as “pro-Congress,” with the implication that they subjectively favor Congress over the president (Zeisberg 2013, 11).…”