Jeffrey Tulis

  • Permalink Gallery

    Alexis de Tocqueville, pandemic virtue and selfishness, and American democracy in decline.

Alexis de Tocqueville, pandemic virtue and selfishness, and American democracy in decline.

Share this:

The 19th century French political thinker, Alexis de Tocqueville, observed that in America, motivation almost universally came from self-interest understood in a new way, rather than from virtue, which was often the case in European aristocracies. Jeffrey K. Tulis writes that the COVID-19 pandemic has seen deviations from this tendency, with a rise in both brute selfish and virtuous […]

The Crisis Is Not Over. Congress: Get to Work.

Share this:

The final few days leading to the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden are a time of great peril, writes Jeffrey K. Tulis, who gives recommendations for emergency government—including starting impeachment proceedings against President Trump. 

Modern constitutions often include strong executives to contend with national emergencies. But what if the executive is the emergency?

Our Constitution, like many of the other national […]

  • Permalink Gallery

    Long Read: Trump’s ‘Hail Mary’ pass and the questions it raises about how presidents are elected

Long Read: Trump’s ‘Hail Mary’ pass and the questions it raises about how presidents are elected

Share this:

Despite media projections that Joe Biden is the winner of the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump continues to make claims to the contrary. Jeffrey K. Tulis writes that Trump’s legal challenges to vote counts and pressure on state officials to change their Electoral College votes in closely contested states are a “Hail Mary” tactic to keep the presidency. Contrasting […]

  • Permalink Gallery

    How a lame-duck Trump could imperil the United States, and what Congress can do to stop him.

How a lame-duck Trump could imperil the United States, and what Congress can do to stop him.

Share this:

If he is defeated on Election Day, a lame-duck President Trump could wreak havoc during the eleven weeks before inauguration day write Jeremi Suri and Jeffrey K. Tulis. 

Political opponents of President Donald Trump are rightly worried that he will not concede defeat but will use the period between Election Day and the meeting of the Electoral College on December […]

  • Permalink Gallery

    In 2020, Donald Trump is the Republican Party’s only platform.

In 2020, Donald Trump is the Republican Party’s only platform.

Share this:

At this year’s Republican National Convention, for the first time in more than 150 years, the GOP decided not to agree a new party platform ahead of the 2020 presidential election, instead deciding to endorse President Trump’s priorities, whatever they might be. Jeffrey K. Tulis writes that, just when it seemed there were no more democratic norms for Donald […]

  • Permalink Gallery

    To counter Donald Trump’s permanent campaign Joe Biden must show what it means to govern

To counter Donald Trump’s permanent campaign Joe Biden must show what it means to govern

Share this:

Trump’s ‘permanent campaign’ mentality has affected the nation’s crisis response. Jeffrey K. Tulis argues that the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, must seek ways to look presidential while campaigning from home.

The “permanent campaign” was the title of a 1980 book by journalist and later adviser to Bill Clinton, Sidney Blumenthal. It captured the central role that experts in electoral politics had come to play in governing, not just in elections. Over the […]

Long Read: A Post-Impeachment Roadmap for Congress

Share this:

Impeachment may be over, but President Trump is continuing his assault on the Constitution. The House can check him. Jeffrey K. Tulis gives an overview as to how, starting with an anti-corruption effort led by the Democratic Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. 

As the primary election season heats up, there is an understandable desire among office holders, candidates, and […]

  • Permalink Gallery

    The Senate as an Impeachment Court should not be the Senate as usual

The Senate as an Impeachment Court should not be the Senate as usual

Share this:

This week the US House of Representatives will likely vote to impeach President Trump. If and when this vote passes, then the US Senate will then be the venue for the trial which will determine whether the President should be removed from office or not. Jeffrey K. Tulis reminds us that in a Senate impeachment trial, that body effectively […]

  • Permalink Gallery

    How the Electoral College could deny Donald Trump the presidency.

How the Electoral College could deny Donald Trump the presidency.

Share this:

The 2016 election is not yet over – on December 19th Electors from across the US will meet to cast their votes for president as part of the Electoral College. Jeffrey Tulis writes that the Electoral College – which began as a deliberative institution – could be used to deny Donald Trump the presidency. He argues that a bi-partisan […]

This work by LSE USAPP blog is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported.