-2020 American Book Fest “Best Book” Awards
Finalist in History (United States)
Finalist in Best Cover Design (Non-Fiction)

-2020 International Book Awards
Finalist in History (United States)
Finalist in Best Cover Design (Non-Fiction)

-2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards
Finalist in Current Events/Social Change

-2020 Independent Publisher Book Awards (“IPPY” Awards)
Gold Medal Winner in Current Events/Political/Economic/Foreign Affairs

-14th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards
Finalist in History (United States)

In War and the Rogue Presidency, Ivan Eland shows that almost immediately after the nation’s founding, starting with the first presidency of George Washington, the executive’s role in defense and foreign policy began expanding past what the framers of the Constitution had envisioned. The Constitution enshrined Congress as the dominant branch of government, giving Congress, not the President, most of the powers in defense and foreign policy. This comprehensive book shows how the presidential aggrandizement of greater powers has only been possible because of congressional abdication. However, this expansion of the executive’s role was still relatively contained until the Cold War when undeclared, permanent war became ongoing policy, and then the post-9/11 war on terror dramatically expanded the President’s role. Such expansion has had deleterious effects on U.S. foreign policy abroad, as well as a major erosion of the republic, its security at home, and the liberties of American citizens.

War and the Rogue Presidency is an in-depth examination of the history of the congressional-executive tug-of-war over U.S. security policy and why reclaiming constitutional standards is essential to restore both an effective national defense and civil and economic liberties. To get Congress to do that, Dr. Eland presents ways in which internal congressional incentives could be changed to provide motivation for legislative pushback. As a result, the book suggests important actions Congress could take for such a pushback along with other reforms that would effectively rein in the rogue presidency.

Ivan R. Eland is Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute and Director of the Independent Institute’s Center on Peace & Liberty. Dr. Eland is a graduate of Iowa State University and received an M.B.A. in applied economics and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from George Washington University.

He was previously Director of Defense Policy Studies at the Cato Institute, and he spent 15 years working for Congress on national security issues, including stints as an investigator for the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Principal Defense Analyst at the Congressional Budget Office. He also has served as Evaluator-in-Charge (national security and intelligence) for the U.S. General Accounting Office (now the Government Accountability Office). He has testified on the military and financial aspects of NATO expansion before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on CIA oversight before the House Government Reform Committee, and on the creation of the Department of Homeland Security before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

He has appeared on ABC’s World News Tonight, NPR’s Talk of the Nation, PBS, Fox News Channel, CNBC, Bloomberg TV, CNN, CNN-fn, C-SPAN, MSNBC, Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC), Canadian TV (CTV), Radio Free Europe, Voice of America, BBC, TRT World, CGTN, Asharq TV, Al Arabiya, RTVi, and other local, national, and international TV and radio programs.

Introduction: What Is the Imperial Presidency?

1.Constitutional Mandates for Defense and Foreign Policy
2.America’s Aggressive Expansion
3.The United States as a Global Power
4.The Rise of the Imperial Presidency
5.War Empowers Executive Expansion
6.Reclaiming Congressional Authority

Conclusion: Restoring the Founders’ Vision of the Republic
Selected Bibliography