Obama’s Fractured Legacy
The Politics and Policies of an Embattled Presidency
Edited by François Vergniolle de Chantal
- Designed at the end of Obama's second term (unlike most books published on the Obama presidency), thus drawing on a complete range of insights on the former president's time in the office
- Features leading experts on the American presidency and on major issues in the US today, covering both European and American perspectives on the topic
- Tackles both institutional and political dynamics
- Rests on a dialogue across politics and history that allows for deep assessment of the achievements of Obama's presidency while simultaneously placing the successes and failures in historical perspective
- Contributors include Steven Skowronek, Andrew Rudalevige and Sidney Milkis
Featuring a range of experts on the American presidency, this book offers both European and American perspectives on both the successes and failures of President Obama’s tenure in the White House. Focusing primarily on domestic policy, these essays explain why Obama's widely anticipated moment of change did not fully materialise. The Obama presidency navigated partisan and institutional obstacles, but quickly lost its 2008 momentum. These developments illustrate the weakening of the institutional Presidency in a larger context of polarised politics. Many of the fault lines of American society were thus left largely unaddressed, paving the way for the Trump campaign in 2016.
ContributorsDavid Bensman, Rutgers University, USA.
Audrey Célestine, University of Lille 3, France.
Frédérick Douzet, University of Paris 8, France.
Aude Géry, Rouen University, France.
Michael Kazin, Georgetown University, USA.
Donna Kesselman, Université Paris-Est Créteil, France.
Thad Kousser, UC San Diego, USA.
Nelson Lichtenstein, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA.
Nicolas Martin-Breteau, University of Lille 3, France.
Alix Meyer, Université de Bourgogne France Comté, France.
Sidney Milkis, University of Virginia, USA.
Andrew Rudalevige, Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, USA.
Elizabeth T. Shermer, Loyola University Chicago, USA.
Stephen Skowronek, Yale University, USA.
Thomas Sugrue, NYU, USA.
Isabelle Vagnoux, Aix Marseille Université, France.
François Vergniolle de Chantal, Université de Paris, France.
Jean-Christian Vinel, Université de Paris, France.
Introduction: Obama and the Exhaustion of Progressive PresidentialismFrançois Vergniolle de Chantal and Jean-Christian Vinel
Part I: Institutions
1. Reflections on Obama’s Leadership and the Prospects for Political Change in 21st Century AmericaSteven Skowronek 2. The Obama Administrative Presidency. Finding New Meanings in Old LawsAndrew Rudalevige3. Congressional Gridlock Reconsidered. The Emergence of a ‘Conducive Coalition’?Alix Meyer4. Obama’s Legacy for FederalismThad Kousser
Part II: Policies
5. Obama and the Never-ending Struggle for Immigration ReformIsabelle Vagnoux6. War and Peace in CyberspaceFrédérick Douzet and Aude Géry 7. Barack Obama’s Urban PolicyThomas Sugrue 8. From Clinton to Obama. The Politics and Political Economy of Health Insurance ReformNelson Lichtenstein
Part III: Movement Politics
9. Criticize and Thrive. The American Left in the Obama YearsMichael Kazin
10. Black Lives Matter: Mobilizing Against Structural Racism in the Age of ObamaAudrey Célestine and Nicolas Martin Breteau
11. The Obama Administration’s Labor and Employment LegacyDavid Bensman and Donna Kesselman
12. A 21st Century New ‘New Deal’? Historical Perspectives for the Hopes and Reality of Obama’s PresidencyElizabeth T. Shermer
13. Coda – Obama’s Fractured LegacySidney Milkis
Bibliography, Index
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This is a well-researched and well-written assessment of the Obama presidency, and a perceptive analysis of the impact of polarized politics on American government and democracy. Summing Up: Highly recommended.
This volume brings together an extraordinary group of scholars who offer powerful insights about the waxing and waning of the American presidency. A bonus is the clear-eyed assessment of the Obama presidency. It is essential reading for those seeking to understand the realities of governing in the US in a highly polarized situation.
