Response: There is a Case for Congress

Abstract:     
In her thoughtful review of our book, The Case for Congress: Separation of Powers and the War on Terror, Elizabeth Wilson argues that our belief that Congress can play a critical role in directing post-September 11 national-security policy is misguided. She questions what she calls our “pleasing but perhaps ultimately naïve faith in rational discourse.” She does not believe rational discourse will “get at the root causes of the illness that paralyzes Congress because those root causes are, at bottom, political.” In this brief response, we suggest that there are circumstances in which Congress can overcome politics and act to fulfill its constitutional responsibilities, both within and without the national security context.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 4

Keywords: separation of powers, war on terror, national security, Congress

Accepted Paper Series