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Richard S. Conley, University of Florida, rconley@ufl.edu

As we approach the 2010 APSA conference the Obama White House will be gearing up for a crucial test in November.  The 2010 mid-term elections are likely to be a referendum on the new president’s handling of the economic downturn.  Consistent with the next conference’s theme of “The Politics of Hard Times,” the Presidency Research Group invites scholars to propose papers and panel themes that examine in greater depth the ways in which recessionary economic contexts condition constraints and opportunities for substantive and symbolic presidential leadership. 

The central question is how presidents’ leadership and policy choices in periods of economic difficulty transform the shifting political landscape of American politics.  One objective is to analyze broadly the institutional, electoral and policy impacts of economic contexts on presidential relations with other branches of the national government, popular and electoral support, media relations, and institution-building with respect to attempts at regulatory reform.  Another objective is to probe the impact of specific policies of economic management in the Obama administration and the degree to which they have broken with precedent, including the effects of governmental intervention in financial markets, the federal government’s unparalleled role as a major stakeholder and controlling interest in private sector corporations, the president’s pursuit of new social benefits such as health care reform in a time of extraordinary governmental borrowing and deficits, and fiscal policy decisions with significant ramifications for federalism in the United States as well as for international relations. 

The Presidency Research Group also welcomes innovative empirical and theoretical insights into the study of the presidency more generally, including papers and panels that emphasize interdisciplinary, comparative, and political development approaches.  Timely topics may include, but are not limited to, the 2008 presidential election, the impact of presidential leadership and policies on mid-term elections, assessments of the presidency of George W. Bush, the politics of presidential transitions, presidential leadership in times of war, legal and constitutional aspects of presidential power, management of the White House and the executive branch, domestic and foreign policymaking, comparisons of aspects of presidents’ leadership to leaders in other nations, as well as presidents’ relations with Congress, the courts, the media, political parties, and the public.  Special consideration will be given to proposals that integrate the conference themes of difficult economic times.