Company logo
Search
Company logo

Explore

Fellows
View All
Research
View All
Commentary
View All
Library & archives
View All
Events, News & Press

Events News About

GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS

Fundamental to any democratic system are the formal governmental bodies that represent and serve the citizenry. At the national level, these bodies span elected offices, such as the presidency and Congress, in addition to unelected institutions including the judiciary, military, and executive agencies. Moreover, the nature of federalism in the United States makes state and local governmental institutions important partners across a range of policy areas and for some, the primary actors. The Constitution delineates how powers should be shared across governmental branches and levels, but in practice, across US history the balance as well as scope of powers have evolved.

Key questions include: 

  • Why has trust in most US governmental institutions declined over the past decades? And when it has not, what has caused this higher level of public confidence?    
  • How have our governmental institutions developed over time? For example, how has the balance of power evolved among the national branches and the national, state and local levels? How have judges’ constitutional interpretations affected any such changes? And to what extent do they reflect technological versus political pressures?  
  • How are our institutions operating today? To what extent do they represent the preferences of constituents? How well do they protect civil liberties, foster prosperity, and serve the interests of future generations of Americans? 
  • Which reforms might improve the effectiveness of our governmental institutions and public trust in them?
Projects
.
america

Legitimacy of Administrative Law

.
america

Public Pensions: Past, Present, and Future

america

Executive Power (Coming Soon)

Featured Research and Reports
.
The Great Recession And The Public Sector In Rural America
August 21, 2023 By Jonathan Rodden

via Journal of Economic Geography

image
.
Checks in the Balance: Legislative Capacity and the Dynamics of Executive Power
December 14, 2021 By Sharece Thrower , Alexander Bolton

via Princeton University Press

Checks in the Balance: Legislative Capacity and the Dynamics of Executive Power
.
Out-of-District Donors and Representation in the US House
April 3, 2021 By Brandice Canes-Wrone , Kenneth M. Miller

via Legislative Studies Quarterly

capitol
.
Impeachment in a System of Checks and Balances
October 27, 2022 By Keith E. Whittington

via Missouri Law Review

Impeachment image
.
The President Who Would Not Be King: Executive Power under the Constitution
September 28, 2020 By Michael McConnell

via Princeton University Press

Image
.
Party and Ideology in American Local Government: An Appraisal
May 1, 2021 By Sarah F. Anzia

via Annual Reviews

states large image
.
After Trump: Reconstructing the Presidency
August 31, 2020 By Jack Goldsmith , Bob Bauer

via Lawfare Institute

After Trump: Reconstructing the Presidency
Featured Commentary
.
Is Our Political System an Ill Fit for the Times?
August 29, 2023 interview with Brandice Canes-Wrone

via The Aspen Institute

democratrepublicanpolitics image
.
How right-wing Republicans could bolster our democracy
December 14, 2022 By Daniel Lipinski , Dan Lipinski

via The Washington Post

republican image
.
Preserving The Warrior Ethos
October 28, 2021 By H.R. McMaster

via National Review

image
.
Future of Democracy in America
October 19, 2023 interview with David M. Kennedy

via C-SPAN

Statue
overlay image