How should Israel respond to the changing external threats that confront it? This paper argues that the country's traditional security concept is obsolete and must be reformulated. How this is achieved depends on developments within the Middle East and on the outcome of current shifts in Israel's politics and society.

Updated for Obama's last year in office, the liberal syndicated radio and television host Bill Press reflects on how the Obama administration has failed and disillusioned the American left. The bestselling liberal syndicated radio and television host Bill Press turns a critical eye on Barack Obama and assesses why his performance as president on issues liberals care deeply about has failed the American left. Press argues efficiently that Obama may have drawn the wrong lessons from the enthusiastic crowds that swarmed around him on the campaign trail in 2008--instead of seeing the potential and desire for a stronger progressivism, Obama tried to rise above and unite the parties. The tragedy of the Obama presidency is that, by trying to be the first "post-partisan" president, he ended up being one of the weakest. On issues as far ranging as gun safety to health care to foreign policy, Obama has let voters down by simply not doing enough or taking the wrong actions. As Press describes it, liberals began the Obama presidency with high hopes, and they now near its end with deep disappointment and a sense of buyer's remorse.

Written during the Second World War against the background of the economic and political futility of the 1930s, this book deals with the changing role of government, and particularly fiscal policy as an instrument for regulating the national income and its distribution. Arguing that the war had an economic basis - the inability of the great industrial nations to provide full employment at rising standards of real income - the book discusses how the failure to achieve a world order in the political sphere must be sought in the facts of economic frustration.

The first part of the book is devoted to an historical survey of what has been written regarding Britain's policy problems since 1946: problems such as full employment, the sources and methods of controlling inflation and the measures to promote economic growth. At an international level, issues such as economic relations with Europe and the question of devaluation are considered. The subsequent part of the book considers how far economists' recommendations regarding policies have been derived from well-tested theories, or how far they have been based on speculation, guesswork or judgement.

'A very useful introduction to the techniques of social accounting' Bankers' Magazine. 'Remarkable feat of compression and expositionit will surely remain for a long time the best summary of macro-accounting techniques' Accounting Research. This volume covers developments both in the scope and content of official economic statistics of national income and expenditure and in their use for short-term and long-term economic planning.

How should we study government?
How do we know what we know about British government?
What is governance?

Governance in Britain has changed enormously in the past twenty years from the market led Thatcher years to Blair's 'joined up government'. This book, written by two leading scholars, is a major contribution to our understanding of the theoretical approaches to governance and of how British politics actually works in practice. The authors provide a radical challenge to traditional accounts of British politics, such as the Westminster model, and instead offer a highly original interpretive approach. The combination of innovative theory and rich empirical detail make this controversial book essential reading for students and scholars of British politics.

Increasingly ageing populations and a slowing rate of growth in the macroeconomy are forcing advanced countries to reconsider their social security programmes. The need for detailed examination of the possible reforms and initiatives has never been greater.
This book brings together internationally-renowned scholars to evaluate the effect of recent social security reforms in advanced countries (pension programmes in particular) and to suggest policy reforms for the future.
Including detailed studies of countries including Australia, Germany, Japan, Scandinavia, the UK and the USA, this book will be of essential interest to economists and policy-makers working in pension financing reform, and public economics more generally.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203217152

This book presents a collection and analysis of original policy documents, newly translated into English, from a key period of Chinese development, providing both a current and a retrospective analysis of China's economic reform efforts. Topics dealt with include the evolution of Chinese economic strategy; economic planning and the spread of market mechanisms; technology transfer in industry; evolution of an agricultural system; the development of population policy; and foreign economic relations. The collection will be of great interest not only to scholars and students of Chinese studies, but also to professionals and social scientists concerned with China but unable to read source documents in Chinese.

President Bush's number-one management initiative for the federal government is the Strategic Management of Human Capital. According to Knowledgeworkers.com, human capital is the accumulated value of an individual's intellect, knowledge, and experience. In the U.S. federal government, a human capital crisis exists. The factors contributing to a human capital dilemma include a knowledge bleed due to retirement eligibility, changing perspectives on work, and escalating knowledge loss. According to a Joint Hearing on the Federal Human Capital, by 2005, more than half of the 1.8 million non-postal civilian employees will be eligible for early or regular retirement. An even greater percentage of the Senior Executive Service, the government's core managers, will be eligible to leave.
All government agencies are required to develop a human capital strategy by 2005. Many of these agencies have scored a "red" (lowest rating) on the Government Scorecard in the way they are approaching their strategic management of human capital. This book is an executive briefing on developing a successful human capital strategy based on lessons learned from analyzing existing strategies at government agencies such as NASA.
Using a knowledge management perspective, Liebowitz identifies four pillars of an effective strategy and gives examples of these in practice.
* President Bush's number-one management initiative for the federal government is the Strategic Management of Human Capital: The topic of this book
* All government agencies are required to develop a plan by 2005--this is the first book to address this need
* Provides a simple framework government agencies can use to develop theirstrategy

Governance of Europe's City Regions is a structured overview of current debates on cities and regions. It provides an understanding of trends at different spatial scales and explores a range of different European experiences to consider prospects for the effective governance of city regions. Contrasts arise for different economic and spatial contexts, and from the complex interactions of national, regional and local politics and policy.
The book introduces readers to and summarises a wide interdisciplinary literature. It clarifies contemporary debates about regionalism and contributes new insights into the theory of 'new regionalism'. The authors' argue that the city region scale continues to be contested and that no single governance model will fit all experiences. They also assert that there is need for a careful appreciation within city regions of the interactions of local institutions, their constitutional context and their economic prospects.

Following the return of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty, it appears that the 'high degree of autonomy' promised to Hong Kong is limited in many ways. China's reservations about the development of democracy in Hong Kong lies at the heart of the problem. The conceptual inadequacies set out in the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution, show a correlation between a lack of democracy and a loss of autonomy. This book argues that genuine autonomy from the central government in Beijing is impossible without a democratic system in Hong Kong. Developments since the handover have, however, demonstrated that democratic trends have been halted and even reversed and that democracy is not likely to be established in Hong Kong in the near future.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203401921

By using the core insights of the constructivist approach in International Relations, this book analyzes the foreign policy behaviour of Turkey. It argues that throughout its modern history, Turkey's foreign policy has been affected by its Western identity created in the years following the War of Independence. It underlines the inadequacy of structural constructivism and offers an interactive model, which takes domestic and systemic factors into account. It also offers a critique of the rational-choice literature on Turkish foreign policy and argues that Turkish foreign policy has been, and still is, guided by identity considerations, which are analyzed in terms of three competing conceptions: Western, Islamic and Nationalist.

Even though there is a massive amount of research on Turkish foreign policy, only has a small portion of it dealt with the effects of the Turkish identity on foreign policy. Furthermore, those who studied Turkish foreign policy from the perspective of identity lacked a solid theoretical foundation and analytical framework, which significantly weakened their argument. This book endeavors to fulfill the gap in the existing literature by offering an alternative constructivist approach to the study of Turkish foreign policy.

This textbook includes material on the general survey on the theory of taxation, other forms of public revenue, public expenditure and public debts. There are chapters on modern theories of budgetary policy and the controversial cheap money policy, pursued by the author when he was in charge of the British Treasury from 1945-1947.

Welfare States and Public Opinion comprises an informed inquiry into three fields of social policy health policy, family policy, and unemployment benefits and social assistance. Though the analyses stem from research spanning fifteen countries across Europe, the conclusions can be applied to social policy problems in nations worldwide. Combining a detailed analysis of the institutional structure of social policy with the study of public attitudes toward healthcare, family policy, and benefits for the unemployed and poor, this book represents a new stream in public opinion research. The authors demonstrate that the institutional designs of social policies have a great impact on inequalities among social groups, and provide best practices for gaining public support for social policy reform. The wealth of information found in this comprehensive study will be of interest not only to scholars and students of sociology, political science, social policy, public policy and law, but to health and social policymakers the world over. Contents: 1. Introduction 2. Perceptions of Welfare State Institutions: Theories and Concepts 3. Healthcare Our Greatest Good? 4. Family Policy One for All? 5. Public Support for Unemployment Benefits and Social Assistance Schemes Money for Nothing or Help in Dire Straits? 6. Conclusion: Comparing Public Attitudes in Three Fields of Social Policy Bibliography Index

This publication is primarily intended for teachers, student teachers and for staff in teacher training institutions. It will also be of use to staff in further, higher and adult education. It is primarily about issues of race and ethnicity in education and includes an examination of the relationship between policies and practices concerned with equal opportunities, both in schools and in teacher training institutions. The central theme of this book is the preparation of all teachers, through initial teacher training, to implement equal opportunities in schools and to provide education for a positively diverse society. A secondary theme is that of the recruitment, training and employment of minority ethnic teachers in British educational institutions. The organization of this book allows the author to address the two central issues, as identified above, in the context of policies and practices as they have developed over the last two decades. It begins with a discussion about equality in the context of issues of quality, followed by a discussion of race and education in its historical context. It includes a historical and contemporary review of issues concerned with two major aspects of teacher education in relation to ethnic minorities. Recent developments in initial teacher education and issues of partnership with schools are explored with a view to identifying the needs of schools. The book ends with an in-depth discussion of equality assurance in education and offers a framework for permeation as well as an agenda for action for all concerned with education.

Privatization and Economic Efficiency assesses the economic content of many of the beliefs surrounding privatization. It develops a new and novel inter-disciplinary approach linking economic and organizational dimensions.A series of case studies examines the theory, evidence and policy experience of privatization in developed and developing nations. These studies focus on the UK, US, Egypt and Jamaica. The book concludes that privatization is an appealingly simple phrase concealing many difficulties and problems for analysts, researchers and policymakers.

A resource for administrators seeking innovative ideas and supporting precedents in formulating policy, this book also provides a useful textbook for public administration and policy students. It employs a wealth of case studies in budgeting and financial management to demonstrate strategies in system implementation, policy formulation, government accounting, auditing, and financial reporting. With contributions from leading experts, it clarifies procedures to solve cutback and downsizing dilemmas using theoretical models, and provides pragmatic approaches to managing financial activities under budgetary strain. It also covers the evolution of a debt management policy.

What is regulation? Under what circumstances is it needed? What forms should it take? Such questions are especially relevant at a time in United States history when governmental involvement in decisions formerly left to individuals and business firms evokes concern on all sides of the political spectrum. In "Going by the Book," Eugene Bardach and Robert A. Kagan address these questions and provide richly detailed descriptions of the dilemmas of enforcement in a broad variety of regulatory programs. The authors argue that the most successful forms of regulation emerge from a flexible rather than a legalistic method of implementation. Relying on extensive interviews with government agency officials and regulated businesses, they find that American techniques of regulation, by their very nature, frequently generate "regulatory unreasonableness," that is, governmental requirements that seem sensible in principle but that make little sense in particular situations. By exploring the roots and dynamics of regulatory unreasonableness and the ways in which some regulatory officials and programs avoid it, "Going by the Book" simultaneously illustrates the virtues of flexible regulatory enforcement and illuminates the political and practical obstacles to achieving that goal. In their new introduction, the authors discuss their findings in light of the twenty years that have passed since "Going by the Book" was first published. They explore the growth of regulation in recent years as well as many reforms, noting that while much has changed, much has not. They argue the United States remains torn between two competing visions of regulation: enforcing laws versus solving social problems. Thus, the deep insights into the regulatory process that "Going by the Book" provides continue to make it a mandatory work for public policymakers, experts in economics, government, and regulatory law, and students and teachers of political science, public policy, and sociolegal studies.

By the late 1990s Green parties had entered national governments in five Western European countries - Finland, Italy, Germany, France and Belgium.This book analyzes the performance of Green parties in these five governments by answering the following questions: what are the political conditions under which Green parties have gained effective office? How do Green parties behave in government? What is the impact of Green parties on the policy performance of the national government? What is the effect of government participation on the electoral and organizational stability of the Greens?

Governance of Europe's City Regions considers the changing role of the European Union in regional issues, explores how national governments have become increasingly involved at the regional scale and examines the constitutional and political contexts in which regional and local governments operate. Detailed case studies of regionals in Germany and England illustrate contrasts in European approaches to the scale of government, and the complex interactions of international, national, regional and local scales of policy intervention. The book offers a unique perspective, which links together an analysis of both regional Europe and the local economic and political factors that shape successful regions.

Government and individual policymakers throughout the developed and developing world face the common problem of bringing expert knowledge to bear in government decision making. Policymakers need understandable, reliable, accessible, and useful information about the societies they govern. They also need to know how current policies are working, as well as possible alternatives and their likely costs and consequences. This expanding need has fostered the growth of independent public policy research organizations, commonly known as think tanks. Think Tanks and Civil Societies analyzes their growth, scope, and constraints, while providing institutional profiles of such organizations in every region of the world.

Beginning with North America, contributors analyze think tank development past and future, consider their relationship to the general political culture, and provide detailed looks at such examples as the Heritage Foundation and the Institute for Research on Public Policy. A historical and subregional overview of think tanks throughout Europe notes the emphasis on European Union issues and points to a dramatic rise in the number and influence of free market institutes across the continent. Think tanks in Germany, Spain, and France are profiled with respect to national politics and cultures. Advanced industrial nations of northern Asia are compared and contrasted, revealing a greater need for independent policy voices. Moving to countries undergoing economic transition, contributors deal with challenges posed in Russia and the former Soviet bloc and their think tanks' search for influence, independence, and sustainability. Other chapters deal with the developing countries of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, finding that the number, quality, and independence of think tanks is largely determined by the degree of democracy in individual nations.

Christopher Hewitt's comprehensive book surveys the characteristics and causes of terrorism, and governmental responses to it. He also examines the organizational structure of terrorist networks, how they are financed, and their ideological agendas. Groups covered include: Islamic fundamentalists, white and black racists, black nationalists, revolutionary communists, neo-nazis, militant Jewish groups, anti-abortionists and émigré groups.
This book is essential reading for students of American politics and terrorism. It also provides a highly readable account for interested readers wishing to know more about a topic which has recently become tragically relevant in world affairs.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the first time that many of the UK population, including its national politicians, have become aware of the practical dimensions of devolution to its four nations through the delivery of support to those affected by the virus. Part of the COVID Collection, this topical book explores how the public perception of the decentralized governments has changed during the pandemic and uses case studies to discuss the actions taken by central government to undermine the devolution settlement. Assessing the role of local government in supporting communities despite cuts from central government, it makes a vital contribution to the debate on the future options for the UK within the context of Brexit and what follows.