Restoring the Balance: War Powers in an Age of Terror challenges the conventional arguments on both sides of the debate over war powers, especially in the context of the ongoing war on terror. Advocates of a strong Congress focus on the need for legislative control over the power to deploy troops into combat; supporters of vigorous presidential power argue that the president's constitutional role as commander in chief of the armed forces means that the president can take any action deemed vital to the war effort. Using constitutional theory, case law, and political precedent, Restoring the Balance advances a novel understanding of the power to declare war, arguing that although the president has broad inherent constitutional powers to deploy U.S. armed forces into combat abroad without specific authorization from Congress, absent such authorization the president is more limited when trying to take actions that affect the legal status of persons within the United States itself.