Context and Constraint in Presidential Unilateralism

Abstract

How should we assess unilateral tactics and their contribution to presidential power in a less-than-unitary executive branch? To explore this question this paper examines the provenance of nearly 300 executive orders from 1947 through 1987. Archival data show that executive orders are frequently a less-than-perfect representation of presidential preferences, as much recent work on unilateral power assumes. That is, the issuance of executive orders often involves persuasion rather than command: it incorporates wide consultation across the executive branch and, frequently, White House ratification of what agencies wanted to do in the first place.