Can a U.S. president decide to hold suspected terrorists indefinitely without charges or secretly monitor telephone conversations and e-mails without a warrant in the interest of national security? Was the George W. Bush administration justified in authorizing waterboarding? Was President Obama justified in ordering the killing, without trial or hearing, of a U.S. citizen suspected of terrorist activity? Defining the scope and limits of emergency presidential power might seem easy just turn to Article II of the Constitution. But as Chris Edelson shows, the reality is complicated. In times of...

As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama criticized the George W. Bush administration for its unrestrained actions in matters of national security. Yet President Obama has not fulfilled candidate Obama's promise to restore the rule of law and make a clean break with his predecessor.

In Power without Constraint Chris Edelson offers a thorough, extensive comparison of the Bush and Obama administrations' national security policies, arguing that both have asserted more executive authority than previous presidents. He examines once-secret Justice Department memos in which President...