Presidential War Power

A classic and bestselling work by one of America’s top Constitutional scholars, Presidential War Power garnered the lead review in the New York Times Book Review and raised essential issues that have only become more timely, relevant, and controversial in our post-9/11 era.

In this third edition, Louis Fisher updates his arguments throughout, critiques the presidential actions of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and challenges what he views as their dangerous expansion of executive power. Spanning the life of the Republic from the Revolutionary Era to the War on Terror, the new edition covers for the first time:



n Indefinite detention of civilians and non-civilians without trial

n President Obama’s failed effort to close Guantánamo

n NSA wiretapping and Fourth Amendment violations

n Presidential decision-making relating to the wind-down of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

n U.S. military operations against Libya in 2011

n Continued abuse of the state secrets privilege in national security court cases

n Secret legal memos justifying the use of UAVs or drones for targeted killings overseas

n Extended comparison of the expansion of executive power under George W. Bush and Barack Obama