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Political Research Seminar (395-0-21)

Topic

Presidential Power in a Partisan Age

Instructors

Daniel Galvin
847 491 2641
601 University Place, 103 Scott Hall
Office Hours: http://www.polisci.northwestern.edu/people/core-faculty/daniel-galvin.html

Meeting Info

Scott Hall 212: Tues 9:00AM - 11:50AM

Overview of class

COURSE TITLE: Presidential Power in a Polarized Age

This seminar examines how struggles over the scope and uses of presidential power shape contemporary U.S. politics. We will read six books in six weeks (Weeks 2-7) and hold graduate-style discussions of the texts while students—working with the professor and classmates—design original research projects that will culminate in 15-20-page papers. The course centers on four through-lines: (1) the growth of presidential power; (2) changing conceptions of presidential leadership; (3) presidents, race, and social movements; and (4) shifts in president-Congress relations. Research papers must address one of these areas and advance an evidence-based argument about change over time—where the presidency has been, where it stands, where it may be headed—and what is at stake. Most projects will use comparative case-study analysis; quantitative approaches are welcome as well.

Learning Objectives

  • Explain and evaluate the historical growth of presidential power and competing claims about the "strongman presidency," using evidence from multiple eras to assess continuity and change over time.
  • Apply and compare major theories of presidential leadership (e.g., political time, rhetorical presidency, backlash dynamics) to analyze specific cases and assess their explanatory leverage.
  • Analyze how presidents interact with race and social movements, and assess the implications of those interactions for policy development, democratic norms, and political inclusion.
  • Evaluate shifts in president-Congress relations and diagnose the conditions under which presidents have become more or less empowered vis-à-vis Congress, including the consequences for separation of powers.
  • Design and execute an original, evidence-based research project (comparative case study or quantitative), culminating in a 15-20-page paper and oral presentation that defends a clear causal argument about change over time and what is at stake.

Teaching Method

Seminar

Evaluation Method

participation in discussion, weekly assignments, and final paper

Class Materials (Required)

William Howell and Terry Moe, The Trajectory of power and the rise of the strongman presidency (Princeton, 2025) ISBN: 9780691276175.

Stephen Skowronek, Presidential Leadership in Political Time, 3rd Edition (2020), ISBN: 9780700629435.

Julia Azari, Backlash Presidents: From Transformative to Reactionary Leaders in American History. (2025) ISBN: 9780691246956.

Sidney M. Milkis and Daniel Tichenor, Rivalry and Reform: Presidents, Social Movements, and the Transformation of American Politics (2019): ISBN: 9780226569390.

John Dearborn, Power Shifts: Congress and Presidential Representation (Chicago 2021), ISBN: 9780226797830.

Jeffrey Tulis, The Rhetorical Presidency: New Edition (2018) 9780691178172.

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression