Public Writing & Media

Why and how did Congress actively promote "the superiority of presidential government”? Join CLEAR's Dr. William Resh in conversation with Dr. John Dearborn (Vanderbilt) about his book Power Shifts: Congress and Presidential Representation.

Stephen Skowronek, John A. Dearborn, and Desmond King discuss their book, "Phantoms of a Beleaguered Republic: The Deep State and the Unitary Executive" (Oxford University Press, 2021), with Meena Bose.  An Academy Forum moderated by Marylena Mantas, with a welcome from Robert Y. Shapiro.

A conversation with the authors of three new, groundbreaking books.

In this discussion, moderated by Professor David Lewis, Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, Professors Alexander Bolton (Emory), Sharece Thrower (Vanderbilt), Douglas Kriner (Cornell), and John Dearborn (Vanderbilt) explore key issues about the modern presidency and how the public, Congress, and the courts can influence - and check - executive power.

An interview with Desmond King and John A. Dearborn. Hosted by Kirk Meighoo.

Phantoms of a Beleaguered Republic: The Deep State and the Unitary Executive (Oxford University Press, 2021) powerfully dissects one of the fundamental problems in American governance today: the clash between presidents determined to redirect the nation through ever-tighter control of administration and an executive branch still organized to promote shared interests in steady hands, due deliberation, and expertise.

An interview with John A. Dearborn. Hosted by Lilly Goren.

Political Scientist John Dearborn’s new book, Power Shifts: Congress and Presidential Representation (U Chicago Press, 2021), weaves together three connected threads in the course of his analysis: the role and capacity of ideas to make political change, the evolution of the position and understanding of the President of the United States as a representative of the citizens of the United States, and the way in which congressional legislation also works to shift the constitutional or institutional relationship between Congress and the President.

An interview with Stephen Skowronek and John Dearborn. Hosted by Lilly Goren.

Phantoms of a Beleaguered Republic: The Deep State and the Unitary Executive (Oxford UP, 2021) helps us think about the complexity of the American political system that has grown up over the past 200 years, and how this system functions (or, at times, misfunctions) given the demands and pressures on the governmental system and the American constitutional framework. Stephen Skowronek, John Dearborn, and Desmond King focus on the concept of the deep state, a term that was frequently used during the Trump Administration, with different meanings to different audiences and citizens. The deep state has also been more clearly revealed, in certain regards, by presidential inclinations towards the unitary executive. 

Donald Trump versus the “Deep State.” A new book examines this political struggle and the tension between the Presidency and the Administrative State. We explore the implications of this struggle with the authors of Phantoms of a Beleaguered Republic: Deep State and the Unitary Executive. Hosted by Doug Becker.