This presentation will examine how the War Powers Act has affected the foreign policies pursued by eight US presidents since its passage in 1973. The law, passed in the wake of the Vietnam War, was intended to restrict the ability of the chief executive to send troops into conflicts abroad without congressional approval. With US forces deployed around the world today, it remains an extremely relevant piece of legislation. Professor Hendrickson has carried out extensive research on the interaction between the executive and legislative branches on foreign and military policy issues. He is the author of The Clinton Wars: The Constitution, Congress And War Powers (Vanderbilt University Press, 2002) and Diplomacy and War at NATO: The Secretary General and Military Action after the Cold War (University of Missouri Press, 2006).