Presidential Administration Research Articles

The U.S. Border Patrol

The year 2024 marks the centennial of the Border Patrol’s creation. This essay is an overview of how border policing on the Mexican border started, how it has been supervised over the past century, and how different presidential administrations and congresses have fashioned legislation to address America’s labor needs, vacillating between recruitment and expulsion drives.

Analysis of Historical Federal R&D Priorities: The OMB-OSTP Memorandum and the R&D Section of the Analytical Perspectives in the President's Budget

Each year, the directors of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) jointly produce a memorandum of research and development priorities and how those priorities align with the fiscal year budget. This memo guides the actions of executive branch departments and agencies towards the administration’s science and technology priorities. By presenting these priorities yearly, these memoranda serve as a record of the science and technology priorities of respective Presidential administrations and, in turn, can reflect a changing science and technology policy landscape over the duration of several Presidential terms. This paper assesses how science and technology policy priorities, as established in these memoranda, are reflected in the Presidential budget within and across administrations. Additionally, this paper compares and analyzes priority topic areas from the OMB/OSTP memos with another representation of science and technology areas of emphasis: the research and development (R&D) section of the Analytical Perspectives in the President’s budget. The Analytical Perspectives document highlights items from the Presidential budget requests. This paper discerns the extent to which these two sources of priority-setting become aligned in order to identify trends in which science and technology topics are prioritized by the White House across time and administration. This study addresses two core research questions: 1) How do science and technology priorities change over time, both across and/or within Presidential administrations?; and 2) To what extent, if any, are the ideas in the OMB/OSTP science and technology priorities memoranda and the Analytical Perspectives documents aligned?

Welcoming Cities/Unwelcoming States: Integration, Segregation and Suburban Sprawl in the U.S. South

This paper examines the spread of the new immigrant “ethnoburb” across Georgia. Gwinnett County is one of the most diverse counties due to immigration in the American South, and a top destination for immigrants, nationally. The emergence of immigrant-majority towns in suburban areas with low levels of resources for non-English speaking residents has created challenges at competing scales of local and state governance. Suburbs near Atlanta’s Buford Highway, where many immigrants live and work, experienced greater intensity of ICE enforcement due to policy shifts in the post-2016 Presidential Administration, as well as mixed forms of “welcome” from differently sized municipalities.

High-ranking officials of the plenipotentiary representative offices of the President of the Russian Federation in the federal districts: recruitment channels and careers

The article covers the analysis of the main recruitment channels for high-ranking officials of the plenipotentiary representative offices of the President of the Russian Federation in the federal districts. As the empirical basis of the study serves the biographical database, that includes information on 154 presidential bureaucrats as of April 2023. Recruitment of people from various socio-professional groups to the apparatus of the plenipotentiary representative offices reveals a number of trends caused by interacting push (specific features of the candidate's position and associated resources and interests) and pull (place in the power system and functional specialisation of the plenipotentiary representative offices, specifics of leadership positions in them, as elements of the opportunity structure, as well as personal connections) factors. One of the most important trends is militarisation: most officials of the plenipotentiary representative offices have work experience in law enforcement agencies and even spent there most of their previous careers. Recruiting security officials who are, in terms of career, “ideal-typical” federal officials and professionally socialised within the framework of rigid, centralised hierarchies probably strengthens the autonomy of the plenipotentiary representations from actors and interests external to federal power, including regional administrations, that these bodies are called upon to control. The logic of autonomisation is also in line with the fact that one of the main suppliers (especially direct) of key officials of the plenipotentiary representations is the Presidential Administration, first of all, the apparatus of the representations themselves. However, a significant minority of presidential officials have experience working in regional administrations (especially among deputies and assistants to plenipotentiaries), as well as in business, both public and private (especially among plenipotentiaries and their deputies). At the same time positions in these structures rarely serve as a direct springboard to a key position in the plenipotentiary representations. Finally, the role of legislative bodies as a channel for recruiting presidential officials is insignificant. In general, the author's findings are consistent with the results of previous studies, indicating the relative stability of recruitment trends.

Not just the nation's hostess: First Ladies as policy actors

AbstractThe position of First Lady is typically viewed as ceremonial and a reflection of marital and maternal roles: some combination of “the president's wife,” the “nation's social hostess,” and the “Mom‐in‐Chief.” Yet modern First Ladies often develop their own policy priorities and programs, and the Office of the First Lady is integral to modern presidential administrations. We make a case for studying First Ladies as policy actors by systematically measuring the audiences to which First Ladies speak, the roles they adopt in doing so, and the degree of substantive policy content in their remarks. Using data from public speeches and statements from 1993 to 2022 we demonstrate that First Ladies over the past 30 years have been active in adopting a policy role and speaking to policy‐focused audiences. First Ladies frequently speak to national, organized interest groups and adopt a policy role more often than not across most of their audiences. Our data highlight the importance of studying First Ladies in the policy process.

The Foundations of Russian Statehood

The content of Russian educational material on moral-cultural issues has gradually shifted over the Putin tenure toward a standard that emphasizes state patriotism, syncretic pride in the achievements and heroes of the Tsarist, Soviet, and post-Soviet periods, and traditional sociocultural values, including respect for religious authorities. The onset of the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian War has caused a shift in debates over national pedagogic inculturation among domestic Russian elites, with many calling for the return of “ideology” to properly ensure the formation of future, regime-loyal generations. This article analyzes the first official document of the wartime period that deals with questions of Russia’s ideology—the educational curriculum guidance packet titled “Foundations of Russian Statehood” (FORS) and promoted by the Presidential Administration for use in Russian universities. The article typifies the state of pre-war Russian moral-cultural pedagogical material within its shifting, illiberal ideological context, compares this pre-war setting with the FORS document and the concomitant discursive shift among key Russian officials, and provides a descriptive analysis of FORS itself. In doing so, the article identifies the evocative “pentabasis” framework of the FORS document as a potential core of a crystallizing, official ideology in modern wartime Russia.

Partisan differences in perceived levels of democracy across presidential administrations

Democracy in the United States is in decline. The current work examines to what degree U.S. Americans perceive this decline in the U.S., and how partisanship may shape those perceptions over time. Using cross-sectional archival data spanning three U.S. presidential administrations (Study 1), we find that perceived levels of democracy by U.S. Americans on both sides of the political spectrum were not attuned to objective democracy indices but instead followed a partisan gap where election winners perceived higher levels of democracy than election losers. Using a longitudinal quasi-experiment tracking the 2020 presidential election (Study 2), we find that the effect of partisanship on perceived levels of democracy kicked in right after the announcement of the election winner but was the strongest after the official inauguration. Moreover, Trump supporters showed heterogeneous responses to the Capitol attack, which highlights the possibility of bipartisan willingness to defend democracy after salient attacks on democratic principles. We discuss the implications of the effect of partisanship on perceptions of democracy.

Biden Administration Trade Cooperation Platforms

The article examines trade policy initiatives of the Biden administration. In a complex climate of domestic political polarization, the United States compete with China and defends its position in international markets. These challenges affect the areas of high technologies, digital economy, information and communications sector, renewable energy sources, and infrastructure. At the same time, an equally important problem in the context of increased geopolitical risks remains increasing the reliability of logistics and production chains, primarily for microelectronics. Addressing these challenges requires the creation of appropriate platforms that allow the United States to interact with partner countries. Within these frameworks, the United States intends to promote the priorities of the Biden administration: standards in the field of high technologies, ensuring the energy transition, protecting working conditions and inclusion. Another crucial area is promoting the fight against corruption, ensuring transparency of business processes in partner countries and training personnel. Completing these goals should attract American business and investment to the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions and Latin America. These should also increase American leverage in its strategic competition with China. At the same time, the formats of cooperation created by the United States must be insured against their internal political situation and the risks of interruption of work when there is a change of presidential administrations. In less than four years of its work (2021–2024), the Biden administration has proposed three platforms: the Global Infrastructure and Investment Partnership, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, and the Partnership of the Americas for Economic Prosperity. The results of their implementation are different. This article examines the two last mentioned regional platforms and describes conditions for their creation, work prospects, probable risks, and some results.

The Complicated Rise of Social Emotional Learning in the United States: Implications for Contemporary Policy and Practice

In this article examining the history of social emotional learning (SEL) in the United States, Kelsey A. Dalrymple and Joel M. Phillips use an intellectual history approach to demonstrate that the development of contemporary SEL was significantly influenced by different sociocultural, political, and economic factors. They highlight how metaphorical wars waged by presidential administrations from the 1960s to the 1990s shaped public policy and societal attitudes toward minoritized and marginalized groups and describe how education became a key strategy to battle many of the perceived ills and behaviors associated with those groups. Outlining ongoing debates on SEL, they argue that acknowledging the racialized and socioeconomic roots of SEL can help inform contemporary policy and practice and also educate advocates and critics alike on the ways SEL may serve to address and/or perpetuate long-standing social injustices.

Macroeconomic and political determinants of the brazilian basic interest rate

This paper aims to investigate the formation of benchmark interest rates by understanding the factors that may influence the target set by the Brazilian Monetary Council for the Selic rate. To achieve this, data from 2003 to 2024 are analyzed to estimate a Taylor rule for Brazil through an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model. The results suggest that the management of Brazilian monetary policy adheres to the principles of the Taylor rule and has been influenced by structural changes. Extreme events, such as the Subprime crisis and COVID-19, may have impacted the decisions of the monetary authority, while the 2016 impeachment and different presidential administrations did not show statistically significant effects. These findings contribute to the scientific literature on interest rate formation by providing empirical evidence for Brazil and offer valuable insights for policymakers and other economic agents who consider monetary policy in their decision-making processes.

Institutional fragmentation in United States protected area agencies and its impact on budget processes

PurposeProtected areas, lands and seas set aside for nature conservation, are the main tool for governments to conserve biodiversity. The complexity of government processes, however, can lead to fragmentation in protected area systems. Institutional fragmentation can preclude central coordination and undermine funding and performance. Here, we examine the impact of institutional fragmentation on budgets for protected area agencies in the United States, an important actor in the global conservation movement.Design/methodology/approachThis article uses visual text and network analysis with agency budget documents to examine linkages between agencies. These findings are triangulated with semi-structured interviews analyzed with axial coding to develop a framework for the budget process and its outcomes in US protected area agencies.FindingsThe visual text analysis demonstrates varying levels of coordination between agencies. The conceptual framework shows that five factors - mismatches within agencies, the influence of the Presidential administration, the power of Congress as the appropriator of funds, external forces that influence Congress, and a lack of accountability in allocations – lead to institutional fragmentation and “disparate nature enclaves”.Research limitations/implicationsInterview findings are derived from a non-representative population, and thus should not be generalized for all agencies or budget systems.Practical implicationsUnderstanding the factors influencing agency budget proposals will inform policy to make budgeting more effective for U.S. and other national protected area systems.Originality/valueFew studies have conducted qualitative analyses of federal agencies and their budgets, particularly for federal protected areas.

The case for agency: Three dimensions of discretion in presidential agenda construction

AbstractWhen scholars address presidential agenda setting, they focus on how presidents go about getting what they want. We know far less about the prior step: how presidents decide what they want (agenda construction). Moreover, prior work that has dealt with this topic has focused on the external constraints imposed on presidential choice by Congress and public opinion. I contend, by contrast, that presidents have considerable agency in determining their domestic policy priorities. They rely on it to establish who they are and where they want to take the nation, putting forward their own “political projects.” I situate this agency in the selection of agenda items and the manner and sequence in which presidents pursue them. Failing to account for this “power of initiative and origination” leaves us with an underspecified understanding of presidential decision making that obscures the consequentiality of leadership in driving important policy outcomes. I develop this argument by exploring three presidential administrations that pose a hard test for my agency thesis: Richard Nixon, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush. These case studies draw from archival records obtained at the associated presidential libraries and interviews with senior administration personnel.

The State of American Federalism 2023–2024: Judicialization of Gridlocked Politics

Abstract Contemporary American federalism, while characterized by nationalized policy battles in the states, is also increasingly defined by the centralization of power in the federal judiciary. In this introductory piece of the 2023–2024 Annual Review issue, we unpack the judicialization of federalism politics. This process, we argue, has been facilitated by national political gridlock, defined by increasing dysfunction in Congress, and the growth of the administrative presidency. In policy conflicts on subjects ranging from education and the environment to abortion and other individual rights, courts have played an increasingly significant role as the arbiter of the federal–state balance of power. As the articles in this Annual Review illustrate, with a few exceptions, judicialization of federalism has often resulted in the devolution of authority to the states, with significant implications for public policy and democratic institutions.

The potential for the development of research and pedagogical staff: a sociological perspective

The article examines the main quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the university social community of research and pedagogical stuff (RPS) from the point of view of both the trends that took place at the beginning of the XXI century and the current trends, as well as the ways of long-term development of this category of intellectual labor specialists. It is proved that further improvement of higher education in the country is impossible without the active participation in this process of the flagship of university progress – RPS. In order to identify the prospects of this community, the solution of the fundamental tasks of developing its potential is considered. The article proposes a Pyramid of factors of influence on the RPS, driven by four social actors – the presidential administration (level of megafactors), the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russian Federation (level of macrofactors), regional authorities and local governments (level of mesofactors), university administration (level of microfactors). All the considered solutions of the regulators of different levels, in the author’s opinion, have a strategic importance for the development of the RPS potential.

Batik and Tenun Endek Diplomacy as a Cultural Legacy from Soeharto’s to Jokowi’s Administration

The research explored an interesting relationship between Indonesian cultural heritage and international relations. It focused on Batik Indonesia and Tenun Endek Bali as strategic tools for cultural diplomacy efforts across different presidential administrations. Starting with President Soeharto’s use of Batik as a gift at the United Nations in the 1980s, these textiles have appeared at six major ASEAN and APEC Summits. The key research question was whether these gorgeous textiles had been effective in promoting Indonesian culture on a global stage. The research aimed to analyze the evolution of Batik Indonesia and Tenun Endek Bali, emphasizing significant international events where they gained recognition, such as the ASEAN and APEC Summits. The research applied a qualitative method and archival content to analyze the journey of batik and Tenun Endek Bali in Indonesian diplomacy. The findings present a compelling narrative. The research suggests a potential link between the use of batik and Tenun Endek and positive outcomes at global meetings, including free trade (APEC 1994), regional cooperation (ASEAN Summit 2011), and consensus building (G20 2023). This highlights Indonesia’s evolving role on the international stage. The research offers a fresh perspective by examining the long-term use of batik and Tenun Endek Bali by Indonesian presidents as cultural diplomacy tools at global events, proposing a novel link to positive outcomes, and highlighting cultural heritage’s potential as a ‘soft power’ diplomatic strategy.

Playing supremacy: DEIA games in higher education

The 45th presidential administration of the United States created numerous sweeping pieces of legislation that drastically curtailed how Americans thought of diversity and where marginalized folks of colour fit in the grand scheme of things. This administration pushed back against notions of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) as they pertained to marginalized groups, particularly in spaces of higher education. To combat this, there were numerous institutions across the country that began to develop or revamp their diversity programmes as a way to ‘show’ those who had been targeted – both faculty and students of colour – still had played a significant role in higher education. Unfortunately, these diversity programmes did little to nothing to help support faculty and students who relied on these programmes, but instead made them feel like this was meant to be ‘played’, like the latest video game. This article seeks to demonstrate how DEIA programmes function as a method of pay, while doing little to provide the necessary support for the folks that need it. Additionally, it shows how institutions of white supremacy are being perpetuated within these programmes, as they are merely used as a way to show others that the programmes exist, while both not actually serving the individuals these programmes were designed to benefit. It will also illustrate in a succinct fashion what DEIA programmes are meant to do and what they are not meant to do while using experiences of marginalized individuals to focus on the problems that exist within DEIA programmes. Finally, the article will provide a potential rubric, or call to action, that could help these programmes to function as an actual form of support as opposed to a system of ‘play’, because they do serve a vital purpose, but not in their current iterations.

The sources of territorial resilience in Putin’s Russia

ABSTRACT This article aims to explain the sources of territorial resilience in Russia. It demonstrates that the basis of territorial resilience is the “power vertical,” i.e. the current model of center–regional relations. This model ensures political centralization and, consequently, political uniformity. The model is supported by several formalized institutions, including the selection of governors, the guidance and monitoring of governors by the presidential administration, and the interactions of governors with the United Russia party leadership. In addition, regional governors are included in patronage networks organized around the highest state officials and “state oligarchs.” This additional informal subsystem provides center–regional relations with a flexibility that is important for maintaining resilience.

National ocean policy in the United States: using framing theory to highlight policy priorities between presidential administrations

Coastal and ocean management in the United States is a complex issue requiring an equally complex management policy. Federal policy has historically been carried out in a siloed (sector-by-sector) fashion causing inefficient and bureaucratic management by federal agencies. The Obama administration took a novel approach to coastal and ocean management by signing an executive order that brought together federal agencies and empowered regional stakeholders, creating a first of its kind comprehensive National Ocean Policy. In 2018, former President Donald Trump rescinded the Obama-era policy and enacted his own version of National Ocean Policy that shifted authority to the states and focused on the economic potential of American waters. This research addresses a significant challenge in federal management of a complex natural resource. Here we identify common management strategies between different administrations to provide insights for future attempts at National Ocean Policy. We collect policy documents, press releases, and congressional testimony from high-level stakeholders and identified the most common themes over a 12-year period from 2009-2021. We find three common themes between the administrations even though their policies varied in strategy and scope: 1) the importance of a strong and enduring marine economy, 2) creating a strategic and efficient ocean policy, and 3) devolving authority from the federal government to state and regional decision-makers. We argue that coastal and ocean management via executive order is too easily rescinded to have a lasting impact. These novel findings highlight potential strategies for bipartisan cooperation in future attempts at National Ocean Policy.

Interbranch Competition Over Control of Federal Agencies and the Selection of Career Executives

In this article, I explore how presidential administrations may use career civil service appointments, in contrast to political appointments, to compete with Congress over the control of federal agencies. Focusing on career members of the Senior Executive Service, I highlight the hiring of officials from outside the federal government or different agencies rather than promoting from within because outside candidates are more likely to be in stronger agreement with administration policy. By analyzing data on career SES hiring and legislative records, I find that administrations hire more officials without previous federal government experience when congressional competition over agency control is intense, as measured by the number of legislative directives in enacted bills that require or prohibit specific agency actions. I also find that more promotions from different agencies occur when congressional competition is intense relative to within-agency promotions. These findings suggest that administrations use career appointments to assert control over agencies against congressional competition, with implications for the political significance of policy professionals’ career mobility.

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The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) utilizes strict censorship to enhance its legitimacy and justify its actions. In the digital age, the internet is a vital platform for disseminating propaganda to domestic and global audiences. Political cartoons transpire as a potent tool, employing parody to transmit political messages. Their effectiveness lies in their faculty to simplify complex ideas, provide humor, and reinforce biases. China’s diplomatic approach has shifted to wolf warrior diplomacy, a use of authoritative language to safeguard its interests. Chinese diplomats increasingly use X (formerly Twitter) to convey political messages, and growingly, anti-US sentiments through negative portrayals. This paper reviews the thematic relationship between tweets by the Chinese government and anti-US propaganda political cartoons, exploring how tweets from government officials influence the creation of negative portrayals of the US. Employing a content analysis methodology, the study explores tweets and political cartoons, revealing insights into China’s soft power and propaganda efforts. It was found that there is a significant correlation between anti-US sentiment expressed through tweets and political cartoons, with variations depending on specific categories of political subject matter and presidential administrations.