Historical Gloss and Foreign Affairs

Episode 29 of Borderlines features distinguished scholar Professor Curt Bradley (Chicago) discussing his new book, Historical Gloss and Foreign Affairs: Constitutional Authority in Practice (Harvard University Press, 2024). Berkeley Law professor and Borderlines guest host Elena Chachko brings her foreign relations and administrative law background to guide this fascinating interview.

In the more than two centuries since the U.S. Constitution was adopted, the constitutional law that governs how the United States interacts with the rest of the world has evolved significantly. This evolution did not come about through formal amendments to the text of the Constitution or even through U.S. Supreme Court rulings. Instead, it came about primarily through the actions and interactions of Congress and the executive branch, as they responded to the changing nature of both the United States and the world environment.

Listeners will learn how and why the law governing the separation of powers, covering topics such as the making of “executive agreements,” the termination of treaties, and the waging of war, has been developed over time through historic governmental practices, rather than through judicial decisions or constitutional redrafting.

In his 1952 concurrence in the Youngstown steel seizure case, Justice Felix Frankfurter invoked the term “the gloss of history” to describe this phenomenon. Professor Bradley’s pioneering research illuminates the role of historical practice, or gloss, to justify both expansions of, and limitations on, presidential and legislative power relating to foreign affairs. The conversation brings fresh insights about the role of courts, the U.S. legal system’s relationship with international law, and “undeclared” U.S. military conflicts such as the Korean War and the “war on terrorism.”

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For a full transcript and more show notes, please visit this episode page in the Berkeley Law podcast hub.

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