Understanding Constitutional War Powers Today: Why Methodology Matters

With the Cold War over, Americans have grown more introspective about the role of the United States in global affairs. It could hardly be otherwise. America\u27s rise to military preeminence, its overseas commitments and priorities, and its basic sense of international purpose all were forged by circumstances of the past fifty years that have changed dramatically. The Soviet threat is gone; once shaky allies in Europe and Asia are now comparatively stable and prosperous; the specter of cataclysmic nuclear war has receded while regional conflicts, ethnic strife, and humanitarian emergencies have moved to center stage. Although the world is no less violent than it was before, the American public feels comparatively more secure. That fact alone has led many Americans to reassess what the international posture of the United States ought to be and what sacrifices they are prepared to make to advance American interests and values abroad. Moreover, in the absence of an overarching Soviet threat, the commitment of U.S. armed forces overseas has become a more divisive issue domestically, and the question of Congress\u27s constitutional role in such decisions has taken on new significance