Rivals for Power: Presidential-Congressional Relations

In our current age of unprecedented political polarization, nothing has been more strained by partisanship than the relationship between our President and the Congress with which he must deal. Now in its fifth edition, Rivals for Power: Presidential-Congressional Relations provides students an unmatched level of insight into the relationship between the executive and legislative branches of our federal government. Edited by James A. Thurber, this new edition includes 11 new chapters by leading scholars, journalists, and former public officials detailing previously unexplored aspects of the necessary rivalry upon which our nation’s governing philosophy was founded centuries ago.
In addition to thorough analyses of the causes of macro-level governmental conflict throughout our history, the book highlights many specific points of contention from President Obama’s first term — from the Dodd-Frank Act, to the “Fast and Furious” gunrunning scandal, to the ongoing battles surrounding the Affordable Care Act and its implementation — as examples of how power, no matter how concentrated or sweeping, is ultimately checked and balanced by our democracy. Students and policy makers alike will find this book a valuable contribution to their understanding of the current state of federal power, and the narrative — the historical origins — of how America’s fundamental rivalry has arrived at its present state.