Freeing Speech: The Constitutional War over National Security

by John Denvir

Overview

The United States is in the midst of a heated conversation over how the Constitution impacts national security. In a traditional reading of the document, America uses military force only after a full and informed national debate. However, modern presidents have had unparalleled access to the media as well as control over the information most relevant to these debates, which jeopardizes the abilities of a democracy’s citizens to fully participate in the discussion. In Freeing Speech, John Denvir targets this issue of presidential dominance and proposes an ambitious solution: a First Amendment that makes sure the voices of opposition are heard.

Denvir argues that the First Amendment’s goal is to protect the entire structure of democratic debate, even including activities ancillary to the dissemination of speech itself. Assessing the right of political association, the use of public streets and parks for political demonstrations, the press’ ability to comment on public issues, and presidential speech on national security, Denvir examines why this democratic model of free speech is essential at all times, but especially during the War on Terror.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814744352
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	03/01/2012
Pages:	204
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

John Denvir is the Research Professor of Constitutional Policy at the University of San Francisco. He is author of Democracy’s Constitution: Claiming the Privileges of American Citizenship and Legal Reelism: Movies as Legal Texts.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Constitutional Wars
1 The National Security Presidency
2 The Manufacture of Consent
3 The Rise and Fall of the First Amendment
4 Democracy in the Dark
5 Free Speech Activists
6 The Supreme Court
Afterword: A Human Rights Constitution
Appendix: Selected Provisions of the U.S. Constitution
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

The strongest attribute of Freeing Speech is its broad-based approach. It offers a holistic perspective (somewhat akin to the "intersectionality" preferred by critical legal studies scholars) to explore the dynamics of multiple forces that constitute the NSP... Because of it's approach, this work may be particularly instructive for undergraduates in political science departments, law students in specialized seminars on free speech or presidential war powers, and serious lay readers who hope for a synthetic overview on our current state of executive overreaching. For them, Denvir's clear and coherent writing style, infused with an admirable degree of rhetorical elegance, adds to the material's accessibility.-Concurring Opinions,

At the same time, this kind of feature is an example of perhaps the greatest virtue of this book - its ability to promote discussion. That a book lamenting our diminished freedom of speech has the ability to encourage more speech from its readers is a sign of a job well done.-The Law and Politics Book Review,

"Passionate advocacy in clear, well-organized prose."-CHOICE,

“Denvir joins an analysis of the ‘National Security Presidency’ with an examination of the current state of free speech law to offer provocative suggestions for a First Amendment for our time, one that would provide us today with the information we need to govern ourselves.”
-Mark Tushnet,William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law, Harvard Law School

“Denvir is one of our most lucid and inspiring writers on the constitutional law questions of today. He boldly confronts our most dangerous problems, such as the limitless national security powers of today’s presidents, without the usual pretense that the Framers somehow handed down the answer. Instead, Denvir asks us as citizens to find or frame a contemporary constitutional limit to such dangerous power.”
-Charles A. Reich,author of The Greening of America

Editorial Reviews

"Denvir joins an analysis of the & National Security Presidency with an examination of the current state of free speech law to offer provocative suggestions for a First Amendment for our time, one that would provide us today with the information we need to govern ourselves."

Mark Tushnet

"Denvir is one of our most lucid and inspiring writers on the constitutional law questions of today. He boldly confronts our most dangerous problems, such as the limitless national security powers of todays presidents, without the usual pretense that the Framers somehow handed down the answer. Instead, Denvir asks us as citizens to find or frame a contemporary constitutional limit to such dangerous power."

Charles A. Reich

Denvir joins an analysis of the ‘National Security Presidency’ with an examination of the current state of free speech law to offer provocative suggestions for a First Amendment for our time, one that would provide us today with the information we need to govern ourselves.”
-Mark Tushnet,William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law, Harvard Law School

“Denvir is one of our most lucid and inspiring writers on the constitutional law questions of today. He boldly confronts our most dangerous problems, such as the limitless national security powers of today’s presidents, without the usual pretense that the Framers somehow handed down the answer. Instead, Denvir asks us as citizens to find or frame a contemporary constitutional limit to such dangerous power.”
-Charles A. Reich,author of The Greening of America

From the Publisher