Presidential Power in the United States: Emerging Research

Date & time

May 9, 2014, 8:30 am-5:00 pm EDT

Location

Weill Hall

The President of the United States occupies a position of global importance, and the office of the presidency itself has grown in strength within the American political system. Nevertheless, the president and the executive branch often require the cooperation of other branches of government in order to decide upon and enact policy. This conference, which brings together top presidential scholars from around the country, will examine the limits on the president's ability to make policy effectively independent of other branches, as well as the president's ability to influence the decisions of other branches through appointments, bargaining, and persuasion.

Progam Overview

8:30am-10:30am - PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS
Gary Hollibaugh, University of Georgia
"Presidential Appointments and Trust in Government."

Alicia Uribe, Washington University, "Binders Full of Judges"

Richard Anderson, David Cottrell, and Charles Shipan, University of Michigan
"Can the President Move the Supreme Court?"

11:00am-12:30pm - RHETORIC AND NEGOTIATION
Jeff Cohen, Fordham University, "Presidential Rhetoric and the Public Agenda:
The Nonlinear Mediating Effects of Popularity"

Matthew Beckman, UC Irvine – "Up the Hill and Across the Aisle:
Discovering the Path to Bipartisanship in Washington"

1:30pm-3:30 pm - ADMINISTRATION AND GOVERNANCE
Sharece Thrower, University of Pittsburgh – "Presidential Oversight and Regulatory Delay: How Politics and Organizational Capacity Influence OIRA Rule Review"

Will Howell, University of Chicago – "Presidential Prescriptions for State
Policy: Obama's Race to the Top Initiative"

Andrew Rudalevige, Bowdoin College, "How Unitary an Executive?:
Transaction Costs in the Formulation of Executive Orders"

Conference organizers Ken Kollman, Professor of Political Science, Charles Shipan, Professor of Political Science, and Mariah Zeisberg, Associate Professor of Political Science would like to thank the UM Department of Political Science, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, Institute for the Humanities, and Rackham Graduate School for their generous support.