Conflicts Over Identity

Abstract

The final article reviews recent books on the American presidency. Curt Nichols contends that the study of presidential politics has evolved over the past half century from the analysis of the tactics by which individual presidents first amass and then dispense power, to the analysis of how presidents try to implement broad political-economic visions. Nichols applauds scholars’ attention to presidents’ roles in formulating, realizing, and on occasion transforming policy regimes. He, nonetheless, advises scholars to think more about the social bases of support for policy regimes, and to view society dynamically. According to Nichols (who builds on the theoretical and empirical work of Walter Dean Burnham), social trends—for example, industrialization, urbanization, and the emergence of a nation-wide market economy—encourage new political-economic dreams and aspirations among the citizenry. By interpreting presidential action within its broader social context, scholars will acquire a deeper understanding of the incentives, constraints, and opportunities that presidents face as they pursue their political-economic visions.