In Praise of Deadlock: How Partisan Struggle Makes Better Laws

(Woodrow Wilson Center Press & Johns Hopkins University Press) The author explains the United States legislative process and its checkpoints. Arguing that partisan struggle in Congress is essential to advancing new policy and generating consensus, he asserts that such struggle results in the production of better laws that have benefited from minority input. Rawls is an adjunct professor in the Thomas Jefferson School of Public Policy at William and Mary. He joined the faculty of the National War College in 2009.

Paw in print

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Tod Williams ’65 *67 stands in front of the Brooklyn Bridge.
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July 2026

Architect Tod Williams ’65 *67 reflects on the Obama Presidential Center; rain and revelry at Reunions.