This conference seeks to examine these critical questions in an expansive way, drawing together scholars from a number of different subfields in political science as well By bringing together former government officials, leading legal scholars and political scientists with a range of backgrounds and perspectives, this conference hopes to present a systematic, balanced analysis of the proper place of the president in the political system. The conference itself will examine what role the courts, Congress, and the public have played in checking presidential actions historically, and what role they should play in the Iraq War and beyond in a world where the opponent in a military conflict may not be a sovereign state. We plan to move the debate over presidential power well beyond the conventional discussion of whether we have an "imperial presidency."

This conference will include: Three panels, luncheon speaker, and keynote panel.

Featured Speakers: Jon Cohen, Director of Polling, Washington Post; John Podesta, CEO, Center for American Progress & former White House Chief of Staff (1998-2001); Ken Mehlman, Managing Director & Head of Global Public Affairs, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and former White House Director of Public Affairs, 2001-04

Speakers: Matthew Baum, Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government; Adam Berinsky, MIT; John Mueller, Ohio State University; Louis Fisher, Law Library of the Library of Congress; Jack Rakove, Stanford University; John Yoo, UC Berkeley School of Law; Philip C. Bobbitt, Columbia Law School; William Howell, University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy; Stephen Krasner, Stanford University; Stephen Skowronek, Yale University; Christopher Edley, Dean, UC Berkeley School of Law

Panelist/Discussants: Gary Jacobson, UC San Diego; Gordon Silverstein, UC Berkeley

Chair: Terri Bimes, UC Berkeley

Chair: Jesse Choper, UC Berkeley School of Law

Chair: Daniel Farber, UC Berkeley School of Law