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Philip K. Howard, Saving Can-Do: How to Revive the Spirit of America. Garden City, NY: Rodin Books, 2025
David Lewis Schaefer, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, College of Holy Cross It is widely known-or it should be-that economic progress in America, and even our nation’s military security, are seriously hampered by a surfeit of litigation and excessive bureaucratic regulation. To take just one example culled from the latest headlines: Although the U.S. played… Continue reading Philip K. Howard, Saving Can-Do: How to Revive the Spirit of America. Garden City, NY: Rodin Books, 2025
What Does the Marque and Reprisal Clause Say about War Powers?
Jacob Rodriguez is a graduate student in political science at Baylor University. In late January, Senator Mike Lee (R–Utah) suggested an unorthodox idea to address the problem of drugs and violence along the southern border: to use letters of marque and reprisal to attack and weaken drug cartels. Writing on X (Twitter), Lee explained that… Continue reading What Does the Marque and Reprisal Clause Say about War Powers?
Is Hunter Biden’s Pardon Constitutional?
Jordan Cash is an Assistant Professor in James Madison College at Michigan State University. It has become something of a tradition for lame duck presidents to issue controversial pardons on their way out of office. Bill Clinton pardoned both his brother Roger and tax evader Marc Rich—whose wife also happened to be a major Democratic… Continue reading Is Hunter Biden’s Pardon Constitutional?
Who’s Afraid of the Administrative State
Joseph Natali is a graduate student in Political Science at Baylor University. On a recent episode of the popular podcast All In, venture capitalist and Trump supporter David Sacks concisely articulated a key aspect of the President Elect’s platform. “I’d like you to show me in the Constitution where the bureaucracy or the administrative state… Continue reading Who’s Afraid of the Administrative State
Alexander Hamilton says Biden Should Pardon Trump
Roger Abshire is Assistant Professor of Instruction in the Department of Political Science at Texas State University. President Biden has continued the trend of recent presidents by granting very few pardons during the working portion of his term, by which I mean before the traditional “lame duck” period. Like his recent predecessors, the vast majority… Continue reading Alexander Hamilton says Biden Should Pardon Trump
There are no “both sides” to October 7
Benjamin A. Kleinerman is the R.W. Morrison Professor of Political Science at Baylor University. He is the Editor of The Constitutionalist. There was a recent proposal at my University to have a campus-wide event commemorating October 7. They proposed bringing in a “range of voices and perspectives” on the conflict since that day. First, I… Continue reading There are no “both sides” to October 7
Machiavelli’s Relevance to Israeli Foreign Policy Today
David Lewis Schaefer is Professor Emeritus, Political Science at College of the Holy Cross. Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince (1527) has typically been dismissed as a how-to book on how ambitious would-be tyrants can acquire and hold power. But before succumbing to this judgment we should bear in mind the praise the Florentine received from the… Continue reading Machiavelli’s Relevance to Israeli Foreign Policy Today
“What do you do about a problem like Joe Biden?”
Jordan Cash is an Assistant Professor in the James Madison College at Michigan State University. In the weeks since the presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the question that continues to dominate American politics is “what are the Democrats going to do about Joe Biden?” While some have speculated that the attempted assassination… Continue reading “What do you do about a problem like Joe Biden?”
Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, The Tyranny of the Minority. New York: Crown, 2023
David Lewis Schaefer is Professor of Political Science at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. He is author of The Political Philosophy of Montaigne (Cornell University Press, 1990; rpt. 2019) and of Illiberal Justice: John Rawls vs. the American Political Tradition (University of Missouri Press, 2007). He is a three-time NEH Fellow. In… Continue reading Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, The Tyranny of the Minority. New York: Crown, 2023
Is the ”Ellerth-Faragher Test” as Important as Brown v. Board of Education?
Thomas F. Powers is Professor and Chair in the Department of Political Science at Carthage College. He is the author of American Multiculturalism and the Anti-Discrimination Regime: The Challenge to Liberal Pluralism. Brown v. Board of Education famously restored the rightful meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment’s promise of “equal protection of the laws,” signaled the… Continue reading Is the ”Ellerth-Faragher Test” as Important as Brown v. Board of Education?
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About The Constitutionalist
The Constitutionalist is dedicated to the intellectual and political work of constitutional democracy. Our authors are open to a range of political perspectives, but we are unified by a capacious understanding of the constitutional endeavor–namely, we believe that constitutions are sustained not only by law, but also by civil society and civic norms. Using our expertise in political philosophy, American political development, public law, and political culture and literature, we aim to foster conversation across disciplinary lines and beyond the confines of academia. We believe this kind of conversation is vital to the creation and maintenance of good constitutions. Though we are interested in what happens elsewhere, our primary focus is on the American experience.
The Jack Miller Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to reinvigorating education in America’s founding principles and history, an education vital to thoughtful and engaged citizenship. They support professors and educators who share our mission, offering programs, resources, fellowships, and more to help them teach our nation’s students—from high school through college.