Congress and the Politics of National Security

David P. Auerswald is Professor of Security Studies at the National War College. Before coming to the National War College, he was an Assistant Professor of Political Science at George Washington University; served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff, working for then-Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware; and was a staff assistant for US Senator Timothy Wirth of Colorado. He has spent time working on the congressional reform team of the Project on National Security Reform, the US Central Command's 2008-2009 Assessment Team and the 2008 'Alternative Futures' project for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He is the author and co-author of Disarmed Democracies: Domestic Institutions and the Use of Force (2000) and The Kosovo Conflict: A Diplomatic History Through Documents (2000). Colton C. Campbell is Professor of National Security Strategy at the National War College. Prior to joining the National War College, he was a Legislative Aide to US Representative Mike Thompson of California, where he handled Appropriations, Defense and Trade matters for the congressman. Before that, he was an Analyst in American National Government at the Congressional Research Service, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Florida International University and an APSA Congressional Fellow in the office of Senator Bob Graham of Florida. He is the author, co-author and co-editor of several books on Congress, including Discharging Congress: Government by Commission (2001) and Impeaching Clinton: Partisan Strife on Capitol Hill (2004).

This volume examines variation in the ways Congress has engaged federal agencies overseeing our nation's national security.

Part I. Historical and Institutional Challenges: 1. Congress and national security David P. Auerswald and Colton C. Campbell; 2. Congress and US foreign policy: an overview Robert David Johnson; 3. Institutional challenges confronting congress post 9/11: partisan polarization and effective oversight Mark J. Oleszek and Walter J. Oleszek; Part II. Oversight Challenges: 4. Congress and defense Pat Towell; 5. Congress and homeland security Timothy Balunis and William Hemphill; 6. Congress and intelligence Loch K. Johnson; 7. Congress and foreign aid Susan B. Epstein; Part III. Policy Challenges: Contours and Debate: 8. Enemy combatant detainees Harvey Rishikof and Bernard Horowitz; 9. Arms control David P. Auerswald; 10. National security surveillance Louis Fisher.