The Evolution of Presidential Power after 9/11 - Miller Center
Title: The Evolution of Presidential Power after 9/11
Source: The Miller Center (a nonpartisan institution at the University of Virginia that explores how the American presidency meets national priorities and engages scholars with leading citizens to help solve major problems). Their website can be found here.
Date of Publication: September 2, 2026
Summary: Commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, this Miller Center panel examines how 9/11 reshaped the modern American presidency and the exercise of executive power during crises. Bringing together historians, constitutional scholars, former White House officials, and national security practitioners, the discussion explores how emergency authorities expanded after 9/11, how Congress, the courts, and the executive have interacted over the ensuing decades, and how those precedents continue to influence contemporary debates over presidential power, national security, technological change, and constitutional accountability.
Why ISSE Is Recommending This Discussion: This conversation addresses one of the central questions underlying ISSE's research: how exceptional authorities evolve after a genuine emergency has passed. Rather than focusing solely on the immediate response to September 11, the panel traces how emergency powers became institutionalized across successive administrations, how the balance between the executive, Congress, and the judiciary has shifted over time, and how those developments continue to shape contemporary debates about constitutional governance. Particularly valuable is the panel's distinction between a true emergency and the long-term normalization of extraordinary authorities, making it an important resource for understanding how states of exception emerge, persist, and transform democratic institutions over time.
