Does Public Opinion Constrain Presidential Unilateralism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3357564 |
|---|---|
| Authors | D P Christenson (0000-0003-4072-5391, corresponding author), Douglas L Kriner (0000-0002-9353-2334, Cornell University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 113 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 1071-1077 |
| Publication date | 2019-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Political Science Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0003-0554 • E-ISSN: 1537-5943 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0003055419000327 |
| OpenAlex | W2950291117 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 30 |
| References cited | 39 |
Whether presidential unilateralism is normatively advantageous or parlous for American democracy may depend on the extent to which a check remains on its exercise and abuse. Because the formal institutional constraints on unilateral action are weak, an emerging literature argues that the most important checks on unilateralism may be political, with public opinion playing a pivotal role. However, existing scholarship offers little systematic evidence that public opinion constrains unilateral action. To fill this gap, we use vector autoregression with Granger-causality tests to examine the relationship between presidential approval and executive orders. Contra past speculation that presidents increasingly issue executive orders as a last resort when their stock of political capital is low, we find that rising approval ratings increase the frequency of major unilateral action. Low approval ratings, by contrast, limit the exercise of unilateral power
Action (physics · Democracy · Economics · Law and economics · Macroeconomics · Political capital · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Presidential system · Public opinion · Scholarship · Speculation · Unilateralism · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Fiscal Policies and Political Economy · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies
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Executives Strike Back
Monetary policy and anxious presidents
Executive Absolutism
Preemptive Action
Spotlighting the Economy
The Unitary Executive Theory in Practice
Unilateralism as a Strategic Public Relations Tool
Mechanisms of Checks and Balances
Not by the Numbers
Unilateral Power for Saving Lives
Going green or making green? The effects of partisanship and inflation on environmental executive orders, 1945−2020
Response and Diversion
Policy Durability, Agency Capacity, and Executive Unilateralism
Unilateral Action and Presidential Accountability
Private prison stocks and the 2020 presidential election
Public Responses to Unilateral Policymaking
Media Attention and Strategic Timing in Politics
Presidential policymaking, 1877–2020
Between Two Fires
The Rise of the “Democrat Party
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Who Punishes Leaders for Lying About the Use of Force? Evaluating The Microfoundations of Domestic Deception Costs
Foreign Policy Appointments
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Executive Accountability Beyond Outcomes
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Try, Try Again
Executive Power in Crisis
Time Series Analysis
Power without Persuasion
Who Governs?
Pushing the Agenda
Executive Orders and the Modern Presidency
New Introduction to Multiple Time Series Analysis
Presidential Use of Executive Orders, 1953-1994
The presidential power of unilateral action
Macroeconomics and Reality
Investigating Causal Relations by Econometric Models and Cross-spectral Methods
How Democracies Die
Circumventing Adversity
The Specter of Supreme Court Criticism
Unilateral Presidential Powers
Public Perception of the Presidential Toolkit
Public Opinion Toward Presidential Power
The Contemporary Presidency After the Orders
Unilateral Powers
The Contemporary Presidency
Opportunity, Constraints, and the Development of the Institutional Presidency
Executive Orders and Presidential Power
Investigating the President
Presidential Approval and Legislative Success
Unilateral Powers, Public Opinion, and the Presidency
Tracking Opinion over Time
The Politics of Executive Orders
Mobilizing the Public Against the President
Constitutional Qualms or Politics as Usual? The Factors Shaping Public Support for Unilateral Action
Legislative Capacity and Executive Unilateralism
Granger Causality and the Times Series Analysis of Political Relationships
The Public Cost of Unilateral Action
Vector Autoregression and the Study of Politics
The Elusive Search for Presidential Power
Revisiting the Two Presidencies
Do This! Do That!’ and Nothing Will Happen
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Presidential Influence in the Policymaking Process
| Unique citing works | 30 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 5 |
| Citation span | 2020 - 2026 (7) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 30 |