Presidents and Terminal Logic Behavior

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Presidents of nations with constitutionally imposed term limits are often viewed as growing weaker as they approach the end of their time in office. However, in this important new study, political scientist Genevieve M. Kehoe argues that because such chief executives are free from reelection constraint and often still enthusiastic to create a legacy by pursuing bold projects, they may accomplish significant initiatives. Kehoe has developed a concept for this which she calls “Terminal Logic Behavior” (TLB).

Presidents and Terminal Logic Behavior: Term Limits and Executive Action in the United States, Brazil, and Argentina provides both case studies and quantitative evidence to show how US presidents of the last three decades have utilized decrees on foreign, domestic, and environment policy during their final months in office. She finds a systematic pattern of decree use consistent with the mark of TLB in a most unexpected place—presidents’ use of national emergency powers. In a careful comparative analysis, she also finds support for her argument in the Argentinean and Brazilian experience of the same period.

Joseph V. Hughes Jr. and Holly O. Hughes Series on the Presidency and Leadership

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Reviews

“This book makes a significant contribution to the study of the presidency, examining as it does presidential term limits, a subject which has received too little attention from scholars. With an impressive research design, Kehoe’s study challenges conventional wisdom, finding that ‘end of term’ presidents engage in substantial assertions of executive authority. ‘Lame ducks’ they are not. What is more, the book’s comparative focus—looking at Brazil and Argentina as well as the United States—is a bold and promising development in presidency studies, a field typically preoccupied with the American presidency.”—Michael J. Korzi, Professor of Political Science, Towson University, author, Presidential Term Limits in American History: Power, Principles & Politics

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“It offers a broad perspective on important questions that are raised amid some parallel, if incongruous trends. I appreciate the author’s clear, engaging writing style. It will be accessible to students and specialists alike. The book breaks new ground and illuminates significant historical controversies at the root of today’s debates.”—David M. Shafie, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Chapman University

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" Kehoe's study advances our understanding of how presidents use their powers, both in the United States and abroad. The book offers new insight into how the shadow of the future-- each presidency's inevitable end-- weighs on the stategies of individual politicians."--John Carey, Wentworth Professor in the Social Sciences

"In this thoughtful book, Genevieve Kehoe tells us a very different story than the one we are used to hearing about how presidents behave in their final weeks in office. Though defeated and possibly discredited, presidents in many democracies do not slink towards the exit. Rather, they issue executive decrees with new-found abandon--leaving not with a whimper, but a bang." --Dr. William Howell, Sydney Stein Professor in American Politics, Harris School of Public Policy and Department of Political Science,University of Chicago

“a well-written, well-researched examination of the tendency of lame duck presidents to ‘make hay while the sun shines.’”—Daniel Franklin, Georgia State University

“. . .the author’s findings are interesting and help contribute to a broader understanding of presidents in their final terms. . .the author is right in her conclusions.”—Daniel Franklin, Georgia State University

"Serves as a powerful lens through which to view [Obama's] remaing time in office, as well as future preseidents in the United States and abroad." -- Political Science Quarterly

Published by Texas A&M University Press

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