George C. Edwards III is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M University. He also holds the George and Julia Blucher Jordan Chair in Presidential Studies and has served as the Olin Professor of American Government at Oxford and the John Adams Fellow at the University of London, and has held senior visiting appointments at Peking University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He is an Associate Member of Nuffield College at the University of Oxford and was the founder and from 1991-2001 the director of The Center for Presidential Studies.
A leading scholar of the presidency, he has authored dozens of articles and has written or edited 23 books on American politics and public policy making. He is also editor of Presidential Studies Quarterly and consulting editor of the Oxford Handbook of American Politics series. Among his latest books, On Deaf Ears: The Limits of the Bully Pulpit examines the effectiveness of presidential leadership of public opinion; Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America evaluates the consequences of the method of electing the president; Governing by Campaigning analyzes the politics of the Bush presidency; and The Strategic President offers a new formulation for understanding presidential leadership.
Professor Edwards has served as president of the Presidency Research Section of the American Political Science Association, which has named its annual dissertation prize in his honor and awarded him its Career Service Award. A member of Phi Beta Kappa and a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, he has received the Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service from the U.S. Army and the Pi Sigma Alpha Prize from the Southern Political Science Association. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He has spoken to 200 universities and other groups in the U.S. and abroad, keynoted numerous national and international conferences, done hundreds of interviews with the national and international press, and can be heard on National Public Radio. Grants from the National Science Foundation, the Smith-Richardson Foundation, and the Ford Foundation have funded his work. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Roper Center and the Board of Trustees of the Center for the Study of the Presidency and on many editorial boards.
Dr. Edwards also applies his scholarship to practical issues of governing, including advising Brazil on its constitution and the operation of its presidency, Russia on building a democratic national party system, Mexico on elections, and Chinese scholars on democracy. He also authored studies for the 1988 and 2000 U.S. presidential transitions.
When not writing, speaking, or advising, Professor Edwards prefers to spend his time with his wife Carmella sailing, scuba diving, traveling, or attending art auctions.
Select Publications
Books:
Overreach: Leadership in the Obama presidency (Princeton University Press, forthcoming).
The Strategic President: Persuasion and Opportunity in Presidential Leadership (Princeton University Press, 2009).
Governing by Campaigning: The Politics of the Bush Presidency (Longman, 2006). 2nd edition, 2007.
Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America (Yale University Press, 2004).
On Deaf Ears: The Limits of the Bully Pulpit (Yale University Press, 2003).
Presidential Approval (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990).
At the Margins: Presidential Leadership of Congress (Yale University Press, 1989).
The Public Presidency (St. Martin’s, 1983).
Implementing Public Policy (Congressional Quarterly Press, 1980).
Presidential Influence in Congress (W. H. Freeman, 1980).
The Policy Predicament (W. H. Freeman, 1978), co-author. Published in France as Les Politiques Publiques (Paris: Les Editions D’Organisation, 1981). Published in India as The Policy Predicament (New Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1979).
Edited Volumes:
The Oxford Handbook of the American Presidency (Oxford University Press, forthcoming), co-editor.
The Polarized Presidency of George W. Bush (Oxford University Press, 2007), co-editor.
Presidential Politics (Wadsworth, 2005), editor.
New Challenges for the American Presidency (Longman, 2004), co-editor.
Researching the Presidency (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1993), co-editor.
National Security and the U.S. Constitution (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988), co-editor.
The Presidency and Public Policy Making (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1985), co-editor.
Public Policy Implementation (JAI Press, 1984), editor.
Studying the Presidency (University of Tennessee Press, 1983), co-editor.
Perspectives on Public Policy-Making (Tulane, 1975), co-editor.
Textbooks:
Presidential Leadership: Politics and Policy Making, co-author, 7 editions through 2008.
Government in America, co-author, 13 editions through 2008.
Government in America, brief edition, co-author, 9 editions through 2008.
Selected Articles and Essays:
Strategic Assessments: Evaluating Opportunities and Strategies in the Obama Presidency, in Bert A. Rockman and Andrew Rudalevige, eds.
The Obama Presidency: Appraisals and Prospects (Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2011).
Interview with President Jimmy Carter, Presidential Studies Quarterly 38 (March 2008): 1-13.
Why Not the Best? The Loyalty − Competence Trade-Off in Presidential Appointments, in G. Calvin Mackenzie, ed., Innocent until Nominated (Brookings Institution, 2001).
Presidential Agenda Setting in Congress, in Jon R. Bond and Richard Fleisher, eds., Polarized Politics: Congress and the President in a Partisan Era (Congressional Quarterly, 2000).
Who Influences Whom? The President, Congress, and the Media, American Political
Science Review 93 (June 1999): 327-344.
Aligning Tests with Theory: Presidential Approval as a Source of Influence in Congress, Congress and the Presidency 24 (Fall 1997): 113-130.
The Legislative Impact of Divided Government, American Journal of Political Science 41 (April 1997): 545-563.
Who Rallies? The Anatomy of a Rally Event, Journal of Politics 59 (February 1997): 200-12.
Presidential Rhetoric: What Difference Does It Make? in Martin J. Medhurst, ed., The Future of the Rhetorical Presidency (Texas A&M University Press, 1996).
Explaining Presidential Approval: The Significance of Issue Salience, American Journal of Political Science 39 (February 1995): 108-134.
George Washington’s Leadership of Congress: Director or Facilitator? Congress and the Presidency 18 (Autumn 1991).
Presidential Influence in Congress: If We Ask the Wrong Questions, We Get the Wrong Answers, American Journal of Political Science 35 (August 1991).
Measuring Presidential Success in Congress: Alternative Approaches, Journal of Politics, 47 (May 1985).
Presidential Electoral Performance as a Source of Presidential Power, American Journal of Political Science, February 1978.
Presidential Influence in the House: Presidential Prestige as a Source of Presidential Power, American Political Science Review, 70 (March 1976).