The Imperial Presidency in the Twenty-First Century

The Imperial Presidency in the Twenty-First Century

The University of Texas Law School
Austin, Texas
March 26-28, 2020

Convened by

Richard Albert
William Stamps Farish Professor in Law and Professor of Government
The University of Texas at Austin

Sanford Levinson
St. John Garwood and W. St. John Garwood, Jr. Centennial Chair
and Professor of Government
The University of Texas at Austin

This program will gather leading scholars in law, history, and political science to reflect on the current state of executive power in the United States and the world. The conference title by design invokes a leading study of the American Presidency—“The Imperial Presidency,” published in 1973 by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.—as an invitation to return to the book’s important themes. Scholars will challenge, extend, rethink, or refine the insights in the book in light of how the office has evolved since then, how executive power is exercised in the modern day, and what the current American Presidency augurs for the future of the office.

This three-day conference will feature a keynote address by Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Charlie Savage of the New York Times along with five panels on executive power.

All are welcome to join us at The University of Texas at Austin for this signature program sponsored generously by the Constitutional Studies Program at the Law School.