I am a PhD candidate at the University of California Santa Barbara where I study American politics and international relations. My research focuses on the American Presidency, American political development, and American foreign policy.
My dissertation focuses on mechanisms of incremental institutional development in the American presidency in the late nineteenth century (1870 – 1900), an era historians and political scientists generally view as the nadir of presidential power. This project explores and expand the concept of presidential innovation – the various strategies presidents use to gradually expand their institutional prerogatives – and the circumstances in which presidential actions are likely to generate congressional acceptance. By illuminating the processes by which gradual institutional development occurs, my research speaks to scholars of presidential development who emphasize the abrupt transformation of the presidency during and after the New Deal. My research not only complement this work by illustrating how incremental institutional changes serve as the scaffolding on which more significant institutional transformation may occur. It also encourages a rethinking of abrupt change and the creation of the modern presidency by asking critical questions – what are the central differences between the modern and pre-modern presidencies? what constitutes transformative change?
Sam Fontaine, PhD 