<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>This Article argues that the act of formally declaring war entails a measure of explicit commitment on the part of American political actors that raises the cost of failure and motivates politicians to see engagements through to a decisive end, fulfilling the role of a contract or institutional commitment device. It argues that undeclared conflicts, lacking such a device, are more likely to end on less decisive and less favorable terms to the United States. On this basis, it explains the emergence of a decades-long trend of protracted, unsuccessful, and indecisive military engagements by the United States as having emerged from the erosion of a constitutionally established separation of powers with respect to the initiation and administration of foreign military conflicts. In defense of this theory, it uses case studies to assess the relevance of its predictions and to weigh potential objections involving selection bias and imperfect information.</p></abstract>

This Article argues that the act of formally declaring war entails a measure of explicit commitment on the part of American political actors that raises the cost of failure and motivates politicians to see engagements through to a decisive end, fulfilling the role of a contract or institutional commitment device. It argues that undeclared conflicts, lacking such a device, are more likely to end on less decisive and less favorable terms to the United States. On this basis, it explains the emergence of a decades-long trend of protracted, unsuccessful, and indecisive military engagements by the United States as having emerged from the erosion of a constitutionally established separation of powers with respect to the initiation and administration of foreign military conflicts. In defense of this theory, it uses case studies to assess the relevance of its predictions and to weigh potential objections involving selection bias and imperfect information.

Declared War and American Victory: A Search for Effective Commitment

British Journal of American Legal Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Declared War and American Victory: A Search for Effective Commitment"}

This Article argues that the act of formally declaring war entails a measure of explicit commitment on the part of American political actors that raises the...

Declared War and American Victory: A Search for Effective Commitment

Published Online: Aug 04, 2020

Page range: 261 - 322

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/bjals-2020-0017

Keywords
Declare War Clause, War Powers, Congressional Oversight, Public Choice, Constitutional Economics

© 2020 Slade Mendenhall, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Declared War and American Victory: A Search for Effective Commitment

Published Online: Aug 04, 2020

Page range: 261 - 322

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/bjals-2020-0017

KeywordsDeclare War Clause, War Powers, Congressional Oversight, Public Choice, Constitutional Economics

© 2020 Slade Mendenhall, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Declare War Clause, War Powers, Congressional Oversight, Public Choice, Constitutional Economics