George C. Edwards III

George C. Edwards III is University Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Jordan Chair in Presidential Studies Emeritus at Texas A&M University and distinguished fellow at the University of Oxford. He is a scholar of American politics, particularly of the American presidency , authoring or editing 29 books and approximately 100 articles and essays.

Academic career He taught at Tulane University from 1973–1978 before moving to Texas A&M University in 1978. There he was the founder and from 1991–2001 the director of The Center for Presidential Studies. In addition, from 1998 until 2022, he was editor of Presidential Studies Quarterly. He is also the general editor of the Oxford Handbook of American Politics (Oxford University Press) series.

Edwards has also held a number of distinguished visiting appointments, including: 2017 Warden’s Visitor, Nuffield College, University of Oxford; 2012–2013, John Winant Professor of American Government and Professorial Fellow, Balliol College, University of Oxford; 2009, Fellow, Nuffield College, University of Oxford; 2008, Chercheur Invité, Sciences Po, Paris; 2007–, Associate Member, Nuffield College, University of Oxford; 2005–06, Olin Professor of American Government and Professorial Fellow, Nuffield College, University of Oxford; 2004, 2007 Fellow, University of London; 2002–2003, John Adams Fellow, School of Advanced Studies, University of London; 1997, Professor of Political Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; 1993, Professor of Political Science, Peking University, Beijing; and 1985–1988, Professor of Social Sciences, U.S. Military Academy, West Point.

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 served on the Board of Directors of the Roper Center, the Board of Trustees of the Center for the Study of the Presidency, and many editorial boards.

University records show he has spoken to more than 300 universities and other groups in the U.S. and abroad, keynoted numerous national and international conferences, and given several thousand interviews with the national and international press. This work has focused on several themes, at the core of which is the matter of presidential leadership. In recent years, he has fashioned his empirical findings into a theory of presidential leadership that challenges Richard Neustadt’s view that presidential power is the power to persuade. In The Strategic President: Persuasion and Opportunity in Presidential Leadership (2009) , Edwards argues that presidential influence depends less on rhetorical skill or personal persuasion with members of Congress than on a president’s ability to recognize and exploit favorable political circumstances. Predicting the Presidency: The Potential of Persuasive Leadership (2016) identifies the conditions under which persuasive leadership of Congress and the public may succeed and investigates the president’s leadership of those predisposed to support his initiatives. Overreach: Leadership in the Obama Presidency (2012) and Changing Their Minds? Donald Trump and Presidential Leadership (2021) examine presidential leadership and the limits of persuasion in the Obama and Trump administrations, respectively. At the Margins: Presidential Leadership of Congress (1989) found that presidential influence operates primarily at the margins of legislative coalitions.

Leading the public Presidents spend much of their time on public relations. In On Deaf Ears: The Limits of the Bully Pulpit (2003), Edwards analyzed presidential efforts to shape public opinion and concluded that presidents rarely produce substantial or durable shifts in public attitudes through public appeals alone. Despite all their efforts, their words typically fall on deaf ears. Governing by Campaigning: The Politics of the Bush Presidency (2007) evaluates George W. Bush’s relations with the public. The Public Presidency (1983) was an early effort to address the critically important topic.

Electoral College reform Americans choose the president in an unusual fashion. Edwards has written widely on reforming the electoral college. In Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America (4th ed., 2024), he argues that support for the electoral college is based on faulty premises and it should be replaced with a national popular vote. He contends that the existing system negatively shapes campaign strategies and voter turnout incentives, and, most significantly, sometimes elects the loser of the national popular vote.

Policy implementation The president is the chief executive, and it is important not to overlook this vital role. In Implementing Public Policy (1980), Edwards examined the processes through which federal policies are carried out and identified factors affecting implementation outcomes. The book is organized around a framework that emphasizes communication, resources, administrative dispositions, and organizational structure as central variables shaping the execution of public policy.

Decision making In Prisoners of Their Premises: How Unexamined Assumptions Lead to War and Other Policy Debacles (2022), Edwards examined the role of underlying assumptions in presidential decision-making and explained how they often lead to policy disasters.

Research Methodology Edwards pioneered the quantitative study of the presidency, and he co-edited three volumes on theory and methods of researching the presidency, including The Oxford Handbook of the American Presidency (2009), which received the APSA Richard E. Neustadt Award, as well as Researching the Presidency (1993) and Studying the Presidency (1983). Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America, 4th ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2024). Changing Their Minds? Donald Trump and Presidential Leadership (Chicago, 2021). Predicting the Presidency: The Potential of Persuasive Leadership (Princeton, 2016). Overreach: Leadership in the Obama Presidency (Princeton, 2012). Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America Cambridge, 2024). The Strategic President: Persuasion and Opportunity in Presidential Leadership (Princeton, 2009). The Oxford Handbook of the American Presidency (Oxford, 2009), co-editor. Governing by Campaigning: The Politics of the Bush Presidency, 2nd ed. (Longman, 2007). At the Margins: Presidential Leadership of Congress (Yale, 1989). Implementing Public Policy (Congressional Quarterly Press, 1980).