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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Central government > General
A systematic and comprehensive study of the early performance of New Labour in power. It brings together the results of a co-ordinated research initiative underway in the Department of Government at the University of Manchester, charting the developing relationship between election promise and government policy across the whole sweep of New Labour's manifesto agenda. Each chapter examines New Labour's initial comments, charts opening policy moves, and traces policy trajectories in each major department of state; so generating a comprehensive audit of New Labour's electoral fidelity and an academically-informed assessment of New Labour's likely policy trajectory though its first period of office. -- .
The Chinese Communist Party and China's Capitalist Revolution examines issues of political change and development in China. In the last 30 years China has experienced a profound political transformation and a degree of political progress but these are largely mired in the assumption that the free market is inherently incompatible with communism, and the perceived lack of political reforms in China. Indeed, there has not been much in the sense of democratization, multi-party competition, freedom of speech and association, but as this book demonstrates, political development is not limited to these factors. Based on extensive empirical investigations of the impact of the market on the communist party, with a particular focus on its grassroots organisations, this book finds that the Chinese communist party is undergoing profound changes in a host of important areas. By analyzing the impact of China's socioeconomic transformation on the CCP and the adaptations of the Party to the new environment the book takes stock of the nature and dynamics of political change underway in China. The author concludes that the Chinese communist party we knew no longer exists-it is evolving into something quite different, which must have political implications for both China and the rest of the world. Professor Lance L. P. Gore is a political scientist specializing in contemporary Chinese politics at The East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore.
Why are vast sums spent on controlling some risks but not others? Is there any logic to the techniques we use in risk regulation? These are key questions explored in The Government of Risk. This book exposes the components of risk regulation systems and examines their interaction and explanation. The approach employed is of a high policy relevance as well as of considerable theoretical importance.
In this interdisciplinary study of governance, Hyuk-Rae Kim traces how civil society and NGOs have evolved over time, how they differ in motivation from their Western counterparts, and the role civil society NGOs have played in consolidating democracy as the governance system in Korea changes from a state-centric to a contested one. This book presents civil society's rise in Korea through in-depth analyses of today's most pressing issues, in order to chart the shifting role of a formerly state-centric to a contested governance system in modern Korea. With detailed case studies and policy discussions, this book explores the role of NGOs in campaigning for political reform and the eradication of political corruption; the provision of public goods and services; challenging the government's policies on migration; tackling the issue of North Korean refugees and human rights; and the provision of regional environmental governance. These case studies demonstrate that the state is no longer the sole guardian and provider of public institutions and goods and underline the growing role of civil society in Korea. Both a study of contested governance and an exploration of contemporary Korean society, this book will be of imminent interest to students and scholars alike of Korean politics, East Asian politics, governance, and civil society.
Many tales from the Jazz Age reek of crime and corruption. But perhaps the era's greatest political fiasco-one that resulted in a nationwide scandal, a public reckoning at the department of justice, the rise of J. Edgar Hoover, and an Oscar-winning film-has long been lost to the annals of history. In Crooked, Nathan Masters restores this story of murderers, con artists, secret lovers, spies, bootleggers, and corrupt politicians to its full, page-turning glory. Newly elected to the Senate on a promise to root out corruption, Burton "Boxcar Burt" Wheeler sets his sights on exposing Harry Daugherty, President Warren G. Harding's attorney general and the pup-pet master behind the nascent FBI. The famously corrupt Daugherty is known for doing whatever it takes to keep his boss in power, whether it be taking kickbacks from bootleggers or bribes for drilling rights. But when his constant companion and trusted fixer, Jess Smith, is found dead of a gunshot wound in the apartment the two men shared, Daugherty is suddenly thrust into the spotlight, exposing the rot consuming the Harding administration to a shocked public. Determined to uncover the truth in the ensuing investigation, Wheeler takes the prosecutorial reins and subpoenas a rogue's gallery of witnesses-ex-cons, bootleggers, disgraced government officials-all seek-ing to expose the attorney general's treachery and solve the riddle of Jess Smith's suspicious death. But with the muckraking senator hot on his trail, Daugherty turns to his greatest weapon, the budding Bureau of Investigation, whose eager second-in-command, J. Edgar Hoover, sees opportunity amidst the chaos. Packed with political intrigue, salacious scandal, and no shortage of lessons for our modern era of political discord, Nathan Masters's thrilling historical narrative shows how this intricate web of inconceivable crookedness set the stage for the next century of American political scandals.
Majority black districts are necessary to ensure the equitable
representation of African Americans. These districts are under
attack today by conservative scholars and a conservative United
States Supreme Court. Critics of race-conscious congressional
districting argue that blacks can win election from majority white
districts. Factors such as continued racial segregation, the
existence of racial bloc voting by whites, and lack of minority
success absent race-conscious remedies, however, provide strong
evidence that the case for majority black districts remains
compelling.
This book examines the development of the Ukrainian parliament - the Verkhovna Rada - from before Ukraine's independence in 1991 to the present. It shows how the parliament transformed itself from a provincial republican Soviet to the national legislature of a sovereign state and from a nominal, symbolic body to a genuine legislative and representative institution. It discusses the key role of parliament in the wider state-building process and examines the evolution of political factions and the committee system in the parliament.
Chief among the personnel at the Foreign Office is the Permanent Under-secretary, the senior civil servant who oversees the department and advises the Foreign Secretary. This book is a study of the twelve men who held this Office from 1854-1946.
The entire world was taken by suprise when 1990 brought an end to Soviet communism in Europe and thus a genuine end to World War II. The fact that these developments surprised not only the leaders and the people of the countries concerned, but also scholars is an extraordinary challenge to the students of Soviet-type economics. In the academic world, where predictive force is one of the key indicators of a successful theory, this weak performance calls into question the validity of earlier findings and interpretations. Something was wrong in the general framework. "Socialist Investment Cycles" offers an explanation of this failure. "Socialist Investment Cycles" is the first monograph in English on investment fluctuations in planned economies, a chapter in history. While providing a broad overview of the literature on socialist investment cycles, as well as a quantitative description of the actual processes, the author puts forth a new framework for understanding investment fluctuations. In this framework socialist planners were able to adjust the volume of investments without risking the fulfillment of politically more sensitive target variable. "Socialist Investment Cycles" encompasses all 35 countries which were ruled by communism and penetrates deeply into the data problem, country by country, and series by series. "Socialist Investment Cycles" has been written after the collapse of Soviet-type communism in Eastern Europe, the USSR, and the countries of Asia and Africa. It thus offers a retrospective view on both the theory and practice of socialist economies.
Many analysts now believe that the growth of presidential war power relative to Congress is irreversible. This book was written to contest that view. Its purpose is to identify what would be required to restore presidential war power to constitutional specifications while leaving the president powerful enough to do what is truly necessary in the face of any emergency. Buchanan focuses mainly on diagnosing the origins of the problem and devising practical ways to work toward restoration of the constitutional balance of power between Congress and the president. The work begins by showing the lack of clear, widely shared standards whose enforcement is needed to sustain the balance of power and draws on the thinking of the founders and political theorists to crystallize such standards. Next it details how, in the absence of standards, agents such as Congress and the Supreme Court with formal influence on presidents and informal agents such as media and public opinion have unwittingly enabled unnecessary power expansion, such as the presidential 'wars of choice'. Of course change of this magnitude cannot be expected to happen quickly. Remedies necessarily involve a reform architecture intended to unfold gradually, with the first step being simply to start a focused conversation (another purpose of this book). Buchanan moves toward specific remedies by identifying the structure and strategy for a new think tank designed to nudge the political system toward the kind of change the book recommends. Lastly, the book shows how a fictional policy trial could take a practical step toward in rebalancing the war power. This is a crucial examination of presidential power and the U.S. separation of powers system, with a focused effort on making a course correction toward the kind of power sharing envisioned in the Constitution.
Many analysts now believe that the growth of presidential war power relative to Congress is irreversible. This book was written to contest that view. Its purpose is to identify what would be required to restore presidential war power to constitutional specifications while leaving the president powerful enough to do what is truly necessary in the face of any emergency. Buchanan focuses mainly on diagnosing the origins of the problem and devising practical ways to work toward restoration of the constitutional balance of power between Congress and the president. The work begins by showing the lack of clear, widely shared standards whose enforcement is needed to sustain the balance of power and draws on the thinking of the founders and political theorists to crystallize such standards. Next it details how, in the absence of standards, agents such as Congress and the Supreme Court with formal influence on presidents and informal agents such as media and public opinion have unwittingly enabled unnecessary power expansion, such as the presidential 'wars of choice'. Of course change of this magnitude cannot be expected to happen quickly. Remedies necessarily involve a reform architecture intended to unfold gradually, with the first step being simply to start a focused conversation (another purpose of this book). Buchanan moves toward specific remedies by identifying the structure and strategy for a new think tank designed to nudge the political system toward the kind of change the book recommends. Lastly, the book shows how a fictional policy trial could take a practical step toward in rebalancing the war power. This is a crucial examination of presidential power and the U.S. separation of powers system, with a focused effort on making a course correction toward the kind of power sharing envisioned in the Constitution.
This book, originally published in 1983 examines how effectively in Britain central government is equipped to secure efficiency and responsiveness and argues that as a result of shifts in the balance of power between the executive arm of government in Whitehall and the legislature in Parliament, the British system of government is neither as efficient, nor as responsive to popular will, as a strong democracy requires. The book considers which reforms are most likely to improve the efficiency of the government and to prove acceptable to British political and historical traditions. It reviews the way in which public debate is informed by government release of information and by the press and raises the question of how good a guide to the popular will referenda and public opinion polls are.
In Congress and U.S. Foreign Policy, leading scholars examine the foreign policy activity, role and influence of the U.S. Congress in the current polarized and partisan political context. Challenging conventional views, the contributors reveal how members of Congress have been active and assertive, utilizing numerous different means to influence US foreign policy, sometimes supporting and sometimes opposing the President. The contributors provide in-depth analysis and expert perspectives on the issues, decisions, and debates that have arisen across multiple presidential administrations in the polarized political context since the end of the Cold War. This polarized environment greatly increases the conflict among, and complicates the ability of, policymakers to reach compromises, much less consensus, on the appropriate ends and means of US foreign policy. This timely and cohesive reassessment of the tumultuous years of the most recent presidential administrations focuses analytical attention on the patterns of engagement between Congress and the President and the range of avenues and influence by the collective institution and its individual members. It thus sheds light on the role and behavior of Congress and its members in US foreign policy as a vital aspect of understanding how and why the US chooses its policy courses toward the world.
Fire Alarm: The Investigation of the U.S. House Select Committee on Benghazi is a study of legislative-executive friction, partisanship, and Congress's attempt to recount events surrounding the September 11, 2012, terrorist attack in Beghazi, Libya that killed four Americans. Using publicly available sources, Bradley F. Podliska details the history of congressional investigations, arguing that both Republicans and Democrats use taxpayer-funded investigations as an arena to mount political attacks for electoral advantage regardless of the consequences. He traces the events of September 11, 2012, and applies a new partisan model to frame the role of Speakers of the House John Boehner and Paul Ryan in investigating the Obama administration's attack response and post-attack narrative. Employing qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze the divisive investigation, Podliska finds Speaker Boehner's selection of party loyalists for the committee, placement of vetted staff in crucial investigative assignments to ensure execution of party strategy, and over emphasis on former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, minimized the examination of White House, Department of Defense, and Intelligence Community responses. As a result, the investigation failed to determine responsibility for U.S. policy in Libya, an accurate post-attack narrative, and why the military did not perform a timely rescue.
For a century, the most divisive question in political thought has been about the size of the state. Should it expand and take an active role in all sorts of areas of life? Or is that just meddlesome and wasteful? Those questions might have made sense in the previous century. Now, with revolutions in technology and organisational structure, and a world transformed by Covid-19, a revolution is also coming in the essential business of government - whether we like it or not. Join organisations expert Jaideep Prabhu on a tour of what's possible in government. Discover amazing initiatives in unexpected places, from India's programme to give a digital identity to a billion citizens, to a Dutch programme that lets nurses operate almost entirely without management. Or perhaps China's ominous Social Credit system is a more accurate vision what the future has in store for us. Whether you are on the political left or right, it matters whether your government does what it does fairly and well. And the game is changing...
This is a revision and update of Zimmerman's classic study of relations between state and local government. The first edition, published in 1983, was based on three decades of research into intergovernmental affairs and examined the legal, financial, and structural foundations of state-local relations. This new edition adds a fourth decade of research and brings the work up to date through the early 1990s, adding a chapter on state mandates and local governments, reviewing and analyzing the changes in fortune of state and local governments, and the impact of those changes on their relations between each other and between themselves and the federal government.
The need for evaluation of public sector research and development activity is critical in today's political environment to assist policymakers with resource allocation. Methodology for evaluating public sector research and development activity is described and illustrated by the author using in-depth case studies drawn from the research programs at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. These cases range from newly formed federal laboratory research initiatives to well-established research programs. Managerial and evaluative guidelines are enunciated. The United States has supported research and development activity on both the applied and basic research levels for most of its history. The importance of public sector research has often been discussed but its effectiveness has not been adequately reviewed. The need for evaluation of public sector research and development activity is critical in today's political environment to assist policymakers with resource allocation. Methodology for evaluating public sector research and development activity is described and illustrated by the author using in-depth case studies drawn from the research programs at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. These cases range from newly formed federal laboratory research initiatives to well-established research programs. Managerial and evaluative guidelines are enunciated. This work should be of interest to scholars who deal with economics in general, public policy, science policy, and public administration. In addition, practitioners in public administration and managers of public sector research laboratories on federal and state levels should find the information useful. Those who depend on research and development done with public sector money or who use it to supplement their research programs will also be interested.
Exceptional leaders can guide us through bursts of energy and activity that fundamentally alter the status quo. But other leaders guide us quietly, and still others lead as followers or as students, citizens, and foot soldiers from every walk of life. Most leadership books emphasize specific rules of the road or characteristics and signposts. Tom Cronin and Michael Genovese see leadership as more nuanced and filled with paradox--a realm in which rules only occasionally apply and how to do it prescriptions obscure more than they enlighten. "Leadership Matters" offers a different view of leadership one that builds community, motivates self as well as others, and one that is creatively adaptive and synthesizing.Leaders are people with strong egos who are constantly learning and teaching. It is the leadership of teams, groups, and ideas that more often count than that from charismatic figureheads. Leadership is often a bottom-up rather than top-down phenomenon. Both context and agency matter. The best of leaders learn to read contexts, anticipate challenges and disruptions, and employ smart power. This book sets leaders on that path to unleash the power of paradox. This book is an absolute tour-de-force one of the most wide-ranging, fascinating, intricate studies of leadership I have ever read. Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize winning author and presidential historian..".a real addition to the leadership canon." Warren Bennis, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California A superb book" J. Thomas Wren, Jepson School of Leadership, University of Richmond..".destined to become a classic. James O Toole, former Executive Vice President, Aspen InstituteWinner of the 2013 Outstanding Leadership Book Award from the International Leadership Association"
Political use of communication technology is rapidly changing the nature of politics; one need look no further than President Trump's use of Twitter to realize the impact that communication technology is having on political processes. Communication technology has long been recognized as part of the policy feedback process, but until now, has received relatively little focus, often relegated to a line or two in a policy process theory system diagram labeled "feedback." This book takes a fresh look at the role that communication technology plays in the policy process by applying natural science control and electrical engineering concepts such as bandwidth, latency, phase crossover, and positive and negative feedback to develop the critical frequency theory of policy system stability. This theory suggests that every policymaking institution has some critical frequency of communications from the policy environment that once exceeded, causes the policymaking institution to go unstable, and it is this instability that causes the policymaking process to speed up. With the theory developed, data collected on approximately 2,000 state legislators from every state in the U.S. is analyzed using linear and nonlinear regression models to understand the statistically significant relationships between communication technology frequency of use and importance, and the demographic, political, and institutional variables that contribute to policy process stability and instability. Additionally, interviews with legislators uncover many novel and interesting examples of the use of communication technology in the policy process. For example, legislators note that lobbyists sitting in legislative chambers listening to floor debates are actually texting questions and answers to legislators as they debate; legislators participating in this process are acting as policymaking puppets for the lobbyists sitting in the gallery. This single use of a communication technology has the capability of changing the very nature of what it means to be a legislator; with lobbyists acting as surrogate legislators.
This timely and insightful analysis of Conservative economic policymaking over the past half century covers the period from Ted Heath's assumption of the leadership through the Heath, Thatcher and Major governments and up to the early years of the coalition. As well as a offering a detailed commentary on the Conservative Party's macroeconomic and microeconomic policymaking for the past 50 years it also establishes a context for the controversial austerity measures implemented by the Conservative-led Coalition that established in the wake of Britain's inconclusive general election of 2010. This is a fascinating insight into policymaking within the Conservative Party as well as an indicator of the extent to which competing conservative philosophies have impacted on the policies pursued. At a time when the Conservative Party and economic policymaking loom large on the political landscape, this book is an invaluable contribution to present debates.
An urgent and witty manifesto, Monopolies Suck "lucidly explains how monopolies threaten democracy, worsen inequality, and imperil the American Dream--and why it's more important than ever to take action" (David Cicilline). Something's not right. No matter how hard you work, life seems to only get harder. When your expenses keep going up but your income stays flat, when you're price-gouged buying medicine for your child's life-threatening allergy, when you live in a hyped-up state of fear and anxiety, monopoly power is playing a key role. In Monopolies Suck, antitrust expert and director at the Open Markets Institute, Sally Hubbard, shows us the seven ways big corporations rule our lives--and what must be done to stop them. Throughout history, monopolists who controlled entire industries like railroads and oil were aptly called "robber barons" because they extracted wealth from everyone else--and today's monopolies are no different. By charging high prices, skirting taxes, and reducing our pay and economic opportunities, they are not only stealing our money, but also robbing us of innovation and choice, as market dominance prevents new companies from challenging them. They're robbing us of the ability to take care of our sick, a healthy food supply, and a habitable planet by using business practices that deplete rather than generate. They're a threat to our private lives, fair elections, a robust press, and ultimately, the American Dream that so many of us are striving for. In this "accessible guide" (Zephyr Teachout, author of Break 'Em Up), Sally Hubbard gives us an easy-to-understand overview of the history of monopolies and antitrust law, and urges us to use our voices, votes, and wallets to protest monopoly power. Emboldened by the previous century when we successfully broke up monopoly power in the US, we have the tools to dismantle corporate power again today--before their lobbying threatens to undermine our economy and democracy for generations to come.
Bringing Human Rights Back: Embracing Human Rights as a Mechanism for Addressing Gaps in United States Law examines well-documented policy failures in the United States and makes an argument for how a human rights approach to these issues can lead to meaningful change. Specifically, the authors articulate a human rights approach to online harassment of women, child poverty, and access to safe drinking water. These issue areas all involve human rights concerns and gross shortcomings within current law, policy, and practice in the United States. The authors analyze recent events, such as Gamergate, contention over social programs such as TANF and CHIP, and the water crises in Flint and Detroit to demonstrate the ways in which current laws do not fully respect, protect, and fulfill human rights. A human rights approach decenters assigning blame or liability, and instead emphasizes human dignity, redress, and remedy for the rights violations. Daniel Tagliarina and Corinne Tagliarina not only highlight the need for change in these areas, but outline a practical way forward rooted in human rights scholarship and practice.
The landmark legal document of the United States, the U.S. Constitution comprises the primary law of the Federal Government. Signed by the members of the Consitutional Convention in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787, the Constitution outlines the powers and responsibilities of the three chief branches of the Federal Government, as well as the basic rights of the citizens of the United States. This beautiful gift edition contains the complete text of the United States Constitution, as well as all of its amendments. It is a treasure for Americans of all ages. |
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