Patrick Hulme

Assistant Professor of Social Sciences

Patrick Hulme is Assistant Professor of Social Sciences at the Hamilton School. Hulme is a political scientist, with a focus on congressional-executive relations in U.S. Foreign Policy. He has previously served as a fellow at Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation and at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center. His research and teaching interests include congressional-executive relations in U.S. foreign policy, constitutional law, deterrence theory, and the U.S.-China relationship.

His has been published by the American Political Science Review, International Studies Quarterly, The National Interest, The Diplomat, Lawfare, and other outlets.

Current Project

Hulme is currently working on a book project, In the Shadow of Congress, that challenges the conventional view of an all-powerful commander-in-chief by showing that presidents act under significant political constraints imposed by Congress. Using a novel measure of congressional sentiment, the book reveals that even when presidents bypass formal approval, they rarely act without informal legislative backing—and consistently avoid full-scale wars without formal authorization. Ultimately, it argues that the “imperial presidency” is more performance than power, a strategic illusion meant to caution adversaries and hearten allies while masking domestic political limits.

Courses

Education

  • Ph.D. in Political Science, UC San Diego, 2023
  • J.D., UCLA School of Law, 2017
  • B.A. in Economics, UC Davis, 2013

Publications - Articles

“War and Responsibility,” (forthcoming at American Political Science Review)

The Tyranny of Distance: Assessing and Explaining the Apparent Decline in U.S. Military Performance,” International Studies Quarterly 65(2): 542-50.

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