Welcome
Andrew Reeves is Professor of Political Science, Senior Advisor to the Chancellor, and Director of the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy. He is also a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution.
Reeves is an expert in American political institutions, presidential power, and democratic accountability. His research explores how presidents exercise authority, how geography shapes citizens’ political experiences, and how federal resources get distributed across communities.
Research
American democracy faces unprecedented challenges. Reeves’s research provides essential insights into how presidents wield power, why voters struggle to hold leaders accountable, and how federal resources get distributed across communities. His work addresses four key areas that shape democratic governance.
Presidential Power and Public Constraint
Reeves studies how presidents lead, especially when they act without Congress. This includes tools like executive orders, emergency declarations, and disaster relief. While presidents often pursue these actions to advance policy or gain political advantage, they are not free to act without consequences. In No Blank Check, Reeves and Rogowski show that the public has clear and often skeptical views about presidential power.
Geography and Political Experience
Where people live shapes their political views and the kind of government they receive. Reeves’s work shows that voters in urban, suburban, and rural communities experience democracy differently. He explores how geography influences partisanship, perceptions of fairness, and attachment to place. These spatial divides are central to understanding today’s political polarization.
Voter Behavior and Political Accountability
Much of Reeves’s research asks whether voters reward leaders for good governance or punish them for poor performance. The answer often depends on timing, visibility, and proximity. Voters are responsive when federal aid arrives quickly or when local unemployment improves, but they are less likely to notice longer-term or complex policies. This disconnect explains why some presidents prioritize short-term gains over durable policy change.
Federal Spending and Resource Allocation
Presidents wield enormous discretion over how federal resources are distributed across states and communities. Reeves’s research reveals that this spending is far from neutral. Presidents systematically favor swing states, partisan allies, and politically strategic constituencies. This particularistic approach to governing raises important questions about political equality and whether all citizens receive fair treatment from the federal government.
Books
No Blank Check: The Origins and Consequences of Public Antipathy toward Presidential Power
Cambridge University Press, 2022, with Jon C. Rogowski
Reeves and Rogowski explore how Americans think about presidential authority, finding that many citizens are skeptical of unilateral executive action even when undertaken by presidents they support. The book combines historical analysis, survey experiments, and public opinion data to show that concerns about constitutional limits and democratic norms shape public evaluations of presidential power.
The Particularistic President: Executive Branch Politics and Political Inequality
Cambridge University Press, coauthored with Douglas Kriner
2016 Richard E. Neustadt Award from the American Political Science Association
Kriner and Reeves challenge the widespread belief that presidents act in the national interest, showing instead that they often favor specific constituencies, especially swing states and partisan allies, when distributing federal resources. The book warns that increasing presidential power may deepen political inequality through executive favoritism.