The United States of America Undercover: An Analysis of the American Political System

“I am the most powerful man in the world, but great power does not mean much except great limitations.”

This statement by Calvin Coolidge – American president from 1923 to 1929 – reflects the core of this book. It focuses on the observation that the American federal political system cannot be described as a purely presidential system, because this would lead to an overestimation of the role of the American president. No, the American political system is a system in which cooperation and competition between the president and Congress are central. But this cooperation and competition are not static. They are subject to change. And in these changes, one will sometimes be able to pull the strings, the other time the other.

In this competition and cooperation between the president and Congress, they are of course not the only ones who matter. In addition to the role of voters, that of interest groups and lobbyists cannot be ignored. Moreover, all this takes place against a background in which federal courts – and certainly the Supreme Court – also play an important role. By focusing on these different players and especially on the cooperation and competition between the president and Congress, this book aims to provide a clear picture of the limitations and possibilities to which American decision-makers, and especially the American president, are subject and of the elements that weigh on these limitations and possibilities.

So while the US President is a particularly important player in Washington DC, he is certainly not the only one, or at least not usually.