War Powers

War Powers: The Politics of Constitutional Authority by Mariah Zeisberg explores the complexities of constitutional interpretation in the context of war powers. The Constitution's structure and values suggest a vision of effective constitutional politics, where branches of government work together to generate good answers to questions like those posed by armed interventions. Zeisberg argues that what matters is not uniformity in constitutional settlements, but rather how well each branch brings its unique governing capacities to bear on interpretive work in context. This approach can sometimes reveal successful rather than deficient interpretive politics, as branches engage with constitutional questions in different ways. The book reinterprets central controversies of war powers scholarship and advances a new way of evaluating the constitutional behavior of officials. Through case studies spanning from the Mexican War to World War II, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Iran-Contra scandal, Zeisberg demonstrates how observers and officials can use distinctive constitutional standards to evaluate the branches' constitutional politics.