This book presents a new way of looking at and analyzing policies, programs and/or plans in which research scientists have used their knowledge to develop mechanisms such as South Africa's National Water Resource Strategy, Second Edition; Australian and South African climate change adaptation strategies for government entities and the UNDP's Water and Ocean Governance focus area. It critically assesses how science can be used in the service of society and how researchers and practitioners can bridge the gaps that arise as a result of incomplete thinking. Presenting a bird's-eye view of how thinking and understanding operate in the policy context, it offers a valuable contribution to fields of inquiry such as research methods, comparative analyses, political science, international relations and the natural and social sciences in general. This book fills a market gap, providing real-world solutions to the practical application of science, paradigms and theories.

This book addresses the under-researched discourse of the evolution of Chinese nuclear posture, and in particular, explains the absence from this evolution of a coherent and well-defined operational doctrine. Using a neoclassical realist framework, the book explains why China, after having launched a crash programme in the mid-1950s to develop a nuclear deterrent, did not debate a clear operational doctrine with respect to targeting and employment until the mid-1980s.

This book reviews the development of China's social security system from 1949 onwards and analyzes its features in each stage. By emphasizing the role of the social security system in regulating income distribution, it points out some problems in the current social security framework that are becoming apparent as the income gap continues to grow. It proposes various measures such as intensifying the reform of the social insurance fund, expanding old age insurance coverage, promoting health equality, and establishing a new rural medical security system that could be employed to improve the system's equitability, sustainability, and inclusivity.

The recent and ongoing crises in the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, Central America, and southern Africa have been and continue to be approached in very different ways by the United States and its West European allies. Richard J. Payne shows how the many future challenges to the strategic alliance of the U.S. and the NATO countries will have to be adapted to a new and less confrontational world, emphasizing the international economic situation over political or ideological factors. Payne maintains that despite years of divergent views on how to handle Third World trouble spots, strains within the Western Alliance can be alleviated in the future by diplomatic and cooperative means. This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the underlying tensions, and cooperation, between the United States and Western Europe in their approaches to the Soviet Union, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Iran-Iraq War and Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, the Nicaraguan Sandinistas, and the struggle for ideological and political control of southwestern Africa. American and European strategies and interests in the Third World greatly affected the broader issues of detente, Eastern-Western European relations, America's leadership abilities, and ultimately NATO itself. The lessening of ideological confrontations between Moscow and Washington, Payne affirms, was followed by the revolutionary changes in Eastern Europe. This volume will be used in courses on international relations, American foreign policy, world politics, Third World politics, global issues, and West European politics. It will also be of great value to political scientists and policymakers.

This book examines the state of women's rights across Europe, from the three-year research of the Network for European Women's Rights. Based on country reports and practical input from researchers and activists in the field, the book is an up-to-date account of the issue of women's social entitlements and rights across Europe: it provides astute theoretical analyses of existing problems and suggests innovative alternatives. It brings together authors from academia, policy-making and international institutions to ensure comprehensive representation and thorough commentary of the issue.

This book addresses the relationship of citizenship and public management in Europe. After fifteen years of State reform, it is time for an overall discussion of the theoretical and empirical impact and limits of New Public Management, as one of the latest re-orientations in public administration, on the practice of citizenship. All the authors have pointed out the tension between a focus on improvement of state bureaucracies, on the one hand, and the involvement of citizens in the co-production of policies on the other. They point to a fundamental change that is taking place: the importance of state apparatuses for the development and sustainability of viable societies is being de-emphasised and special attention to "governance" is now taking over the central place, that for so long has been occupied by attention to "government." Through the co-production of public policies by citizens and public authorities working together, a new civil society is emerging. This book highlights the fact that the re-invention of the citizen is of crucial importance to public administrative practice, as well as to the various public administration disciplines in Europe.

Since the passage in 1990 of the Americans with Disabilities Act, society has made considerable strides in improving the quality of life and the productivity of individuals with disabilities. At the same time, however, the American health care system has undergone considerable change, with some unforeseen consequences for those with disabilities.

Birenbaum analyzes all of the disability and health policy issues that have emerged from our reliance upon managed care. First, he examines how disability has been defined and redefined in social science and in government regulations. Then, he discusses the major changes in health care over the last decade--in particular, the financial and organizational principles behind managed care. After reviewing the structural advantages and disadvantages of managed care for people with disabilities, he concludes with observations on the future of health care for people with disabilities, particularly in the context of the quality of life and the possible functional outcomes following medical interventions.

Shelton confirms the power of talk in the specific case of the 1994 debate on comprehensive health care reform and beyond. He provides a context rich with detail concerning health care and health care reform in America and a social scientific examination of specific discourse factors that includes narratives, naming, and medical metaphors. Shelton's assessment of the debate reveals that opposition discourse was much more directly impacted and broader in scope. This is followed by a rhetorical analysis that extends the genre of crisis rhetoric. Shelton's rhetorical analysis reveals that the virtual crisis of big government both subsumed and overwhelmed the actual health care crisis. Such an assessment--including an ethical analysis of the 1994 floor debate and detailed consideration of the social existence of hatred for government--produces a host of research and scholarly implications. A thoughtful analysis that will be of value to scholars and researchers in political communication and public policy.

The development and use of nuclear power in the United States has become stalemated. After the early promise of energy too cheap to meter, public concerns and legal challenges have stymied the nuclear power industry. Chief among these is the issue of safe disposal of nuclear waste. This volume, therefore, examines the dynamics of nuclear waste disposal policy. It is organized to address a wide range of issues found in the policy debate, e.g., the interrelationship between science and public choice, policy management and implementation, legal protection and liability, quality assurance and transportation, and so on. The volume provides a comprehensive view of the complex environment in which nuclear waste disposal policy develops.

Cybercrime affects over 1 million people worldwide a day, and cyber attacks on public institutions and businesses are increasing. This book interrogates the European Union's evolving cybersecurity policies and strategy and argues that while progress is being made, much remains to be done to ensure a secure and resilient cyberspace in the future.

The New Look sought to formulate a more selective and flexible response to Communist challenges. The New Look was not simply a `bigger bang for a buck' nor merely a device for achieving a balanced budget, nor did it amount solely to a strategy of massive retaliation, as is commonly assumed. Dr Dockrill's incisive revisionist analysis of the subject throws new light on US ambitious global strategy during the Eisenhower years.

Differentiation was at first not perceived as a threat to the European project, but rather as a tool to promote further integration. Today, more EU policies than ever are marked by concentric circles of integration and a lack of uniform application. As the EU faces increasingly existential challenges, this timely book considers whether the proliferation of mechanisms of flexibility has contributed to this newly fragile state or whether, to the contrary, differentiation has been fundamental to integration despite the heterogeneity of national interests and priorities. Written by emerging and established experts in the field, the chapters examine the present and future of differentiation in EU law. Part I covers general institutional aspects, with contributors examining the nature and characteristics of the various institutional and extra-institutional forms of differentiation. Part II takes a policy-oriented perspective, focussing on areas of EU law and policy in which differentiated integration is prevalent or particularly intriguing. This includes Economic and Monetary Union, the internal market, justice and home affairs, and foreign policy. Differentiated integration is now a defining feature of the EU polity, with the potential to impact almost every facet of EU regulation. This book will be essential reading for students and academics in EU law or anyone interested in the future of EU integration. Contributors include: V. Borger, M. Dawson, M. de Visser, B. De Witte, W. Devroe, A. Durana, N. El-Enany, C. Fasone, E. Ferran, E. Herlin-Karnell, C. Herrmann, S. Kingston, P. Koutrakos, A. Ott, S. Peers, D. Thym, P. Van Cleynenbreugel, S. Van den Bogaert, A.P. van der Mei, E. Vos, M. Weimer

In an EU increasingly worried about the security of its citizens and its territory, how should the European Parliament make policy decisions in these areas? This study investigates how the empowerment of the European Parliament has led it to abandon its defence of civil liberties in order to become a full partner in inter-institutional negotiations

In 2000, the European Union set out to shape itself into the world's most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy within a decade. But how great is the capacity of the EU to orchestrate 'competitiveness'? Can common policy instruments produce consistent effects across diverse varieties of capitalism? Has substantial policy learning taken place in response to the successes and failures of the Lisbon agenda? Europe and National Economic Transformation identifies the nature and limits of the transformative capacities of the EU's push for economic gains. The book does so by examining the consequences of the decade-long Lisbon process and its successor, Europe 2020. It explores a broad range of economic outcomes and consequences for an array of policy areas, including innovation financing, employment services, labor migration policy and pension reform.

Preface and Acknowledgements. List of Figures. List of Tables. List of Abbreviations. Part I: Introduction. 1. Environment and Transition in Eastern Europe. 2. A Policy Science Perspective. Part II: National Policy. 3. Setting the Stage. 4. National Environmental Policy in the 1980s. 5. National Environmental Policy in the 1990s. Part III: Sectoral Policies. 6. Air Pollution from Stationary Sources. 7. Saline Waste Water from the Hard Coal Sector. Part IV: Conclusions. 8. Conclusions about Policy Change. References. Interviews. List of Main Questions Asked in Poland. Appendix 1. Environmental Protection Administration in Poland in 1985. Appendix 2. Environmental Protection Administration in Poland in 1995. Appendix 3. Structure of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources in 1988. Appendix 4. Structure of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry in 1995. Index.

This book assembles and organizes a selected range of methods and techniques that every planning practitioner should know to be successful in the contemporary global urban landscape. The book is unique because it links different aspects of the planning/policy-making enterprise with the appropriate methods and approaches, thus contextualizing the use of specific methods and techniques within a sociopolitical and ethical framework. This volume familiarizes readers with the diverse range of methods, techniques, and skills that must be applied at different scales in dynamic workplace environments where planning policies and programs are developed and implemented. This book is an invaluable resource in helping new entrants to the planning discourse and profession set aside their own disciplinary biases and empowering them to use their expert knowledge to address societal concerns.

Against the backdrop of U.S. drug policy and strategy, this important work, written by an experienced Intelligence and Special Operations Officer and Scholar, peels away the rhetoric to present an insider's view of cocaine trafficking in the Western Hemisphere. From the Huallaga and Chapare Valleys, through the cocaine transit countries to the U.S. border, this book compares and contrasts the enormous success of the traffickers to the monolithic U.S. drug policy that produces no end-game and conceals its failures behind a classified stamp. Drawing on his experience as the Counter Drug Intelligence Team Leader at Los Alamos National Laboratory and as a Black Hat Team member with the U.S. Southern Command, the author approaches drug trafficking from the narcotraficantes point of view to paint a picture that portrays the cocaine industry as it really is. Arguing that it is impossible to stop drugs at their source, the author builds a compelling case for shifting U.S. assets to the southern borders of the United States, through a strategy that causes the traffickers to pass through a series of obstacles designed to slow and impede their operations. Identifying drug trafficking as an examplar of the Gray Area Phenomena--the impact of non-state players and organizations on a post-colonial, multi-tribal world--the author brings a currency to his work using Open Source Intelligence as the vehicle by which the drug trafficking world may be assessed and analyzed. "Sharing the Secrets" offers an Intelligence for the new world disorder that enables decision-makers to recognize and define the new threats and suggests how realistic policy and strategy might be evaluated and re-cast. This work will be of particular interest to policy-makers, law enforcement and Intelligence professionals, and scholars as it opens the book to the right page and provides for the first time the stubborn facts that they may have been neglecting in the war on drugs. "Sharing the Secrets" is a body of descriptive, proscriptive, and prescriptive material that will enable serious public discusion to begin on national drug policy and strategy.

Yang Jiang opens the black box of China's policymaking for free trade agreements and key regional financial initiatives. Using first-hand interview data, she sheds light on the key trends of China's trade and financial politics after its WTO entry in 2001. In particular, she highlights the influence of competing domestic interests, protectionist and conservative forces vis-a-vis liberal and reformist forces; government agencies, ministries and national commissions, local governments; and different ideas on China's foreign economic policy. In doing so, she also provides interesting comparisons between China and other countries in international negotiations. Her invesitgation offers a fresh look into China, its changing decision-making under different generations of leadership, and the basis for its current and potential contribution to international economic cooperation.

This timely study analyses the ways in which competing ideologies and cultural narratives have influenced the Obama administration's decision-making on Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria, situating these decisions within the broader history of American foreign policy.

This books examines the increased prominence of children's rights in education to ask whether we are witnessing a paradigm shift within the education system. The author uses a wide range of case studies from Scotland and England to examine the extent to which children and young people with Special Educational Needs/ Additional Support Needs are in practice able to realise their new rights of participation and redress. In addition, the book examines the ways in which the child's capacity to make independent decisions is understood and acted upon in different contexts, and the factors which ultimately promote or inhibit the rights of young people and children with SEN/ ASN. The author asks whether, in a context of tight budgets and often limited support, this new emphasis on children's rights can be seen as 'window-dressing' and a distraction from reductions in support for social welfare.

There have been major shifts in the framework of social policy and welfare across Europe. Adopting a multi-level, comparative and interdisciplinary approach, this book develops a critical analysis of policy change and welfare reform in Europe. It specifically asks: To what extent do welfare states undergo profound change? Is the welfare state moving in qualitatively different directions? What generates change? What are the outcomes of change in terms of social cohesion? The book applies a dynamic and change oriented perspective to shed light on policy changes that are often poorly understood in the welfare literature, and contributes to a further development of the theoretical and conceptual frameworks for understanding social change. Using citizenship as a focus, several dimensions of change are analysed simultaneously: changes in the discipline of Social Policy itself; the changing character of social problems; changes in social policy and citizenship; and the emergence of new forms of social integration. The book also speculates on how different dimensions of change are interlinked. The changing face of welfare will be of interest to academics and postgraduate or level 3 students in social policy, sociology and politics.

External challenges, strategic threats, and war have shaped the course of modern British history. This volume examines how Britain mobilized to meet these challenges and how developments in the constitution, state, public sphere, and economy were a response to foreign policy issues from the Restoration to the rise of New Labour.

British Party Politics and Ideology after New Labour brings together academics and politicians to debate the intellectual roots of the ideas that currently drive the main UK political parties. With major players responding to the arguments raised in each chapter, the book will be a must-read for anyone interested in or teaching British politics.