John Nance Garner once colourfully described the office of vice president of the United States as not worth ""a pitcher of warm piss,"" and no doubt many of the 45 men elected to it would agree. Though it is the second highest elective office in the United States, there is but one constitutional duty: to preside over the Senate. Historically, vice presidents have often been relegated to attending state funerals and heading mostly ceremonial committees. Unless, of course, the president dies or resigns; they are then thrust into the presidency, often with little or no preparation. From John Adams to Albert Gore, Jr., this reference work provides biographies of the 45 vice presidents of the United States. Despite the fact that many think of the office as a stepping stone to the White House, only 14 have actually served as president. Outside the public spotlight, many vice presidents led fascinating lives and served their country with distinction, though little has been written about them. The biographies herein focus on their work as vice president, their relationship with the president under whom they served, and their role in the White house. Their lives after the end of their terms are also examined fully. A bibliography follows each biography.

Coming off of the 2020 election, THE BIDENS tells the Biden Family story in full, from the secrets lurking in the deep recesses of Joe's family tree to his son Hunter's foreign deal-making spree-and the Trump gang's ham-handed efforts to exploit it. On November 3, Americans did not just elect Joe Biden: They got a package deal. The tight-knit Biden family-siblings, children, in-laws, and beyond-is coming right along with him. They are sure to play a defining role in his presidency, just as they have in every other one of his endeavours. Inside, you'll find these and other stories and revelations about the Biden family, including: - Joe's childhood, the stunning 1972 Senate upset engineered by his sister Valerie, and the car accident that took the lives of his first wife and infant daughter soon after - Joe's early years in the Senate and his role in the creation of the cozy "Delaware Way" of conducting politics - The Biden brothers' business escapades, including the '70s rock club rivalry that pitted Jim Biden against Jill's first husband and ended in a banking scandal - The Delaware lawman who oversaw an FBI investigation into Joe's 2007 campaign fundraising and now has Hunter in his sights - Hunter's surprisingly close friendship with his Fox News antagonist, Tucker Carlson - What Steve Bannon really hoped to accomplish by giving the contents of "the Laptop from Hell" to the New York Post - New evidence that sheds light on the authenticity of Hunter's alleged computer files Like the Kennedys before them, the Bidens are a tight-knit, idealistic Irish Catholic clan with good looks, dynastic ambitions, and serious personal problems. As THE BIDENS reveals, the best way to understand Joe Biden-his values, fears, and motives-is to understand his family: Their Irish (and not-so-Irish) roots, their place in the Delaware pecking order, their dodgy business deals, and their personal struggles and triumphs alike.

What does Congress do? How does it do it? Why is it such a complicated institution? This concise primer offers students and general readers a brief and systematic introduction to Congress and the role it plays in the US political system. Drawing on his experience as a former Congressional staff member, the author explores the different political natures of the House and Senate, examines Congress's interaction with other branches of the Federal government, and looks ahead to the domestic and foreign challenges that are likely to drive the Congressional agenda for decades to come. The book provides revealing insights into the sometimes-contradictory Congressional responsibilities of representation and lawmaking; oversight and appropriation; and managing and organizing the government. It includes a case study (on the formation of the Department of Homeland Security) that sheds light on Congress's often-complicated procedures. The book also includes boxed features on Congressional action - highlighting such topics as file sharing and student loans - that show students how Congress's work affects their lives. Chapter-ending lists of web resources add to the book's usefulness.

What does Congress do? How does it do it? Why is it such a complicated institution? This concise primer offers students and general readers a brief and systematic introduction to Congress and the role it plays in the US political system. Drawing on his experience as a former Congressional staff member, the author explores the different political natures of the House and Senate, examines Congress's interaction with other branches of the Federal government, and looks ahead to the domestic and foreign challenges that are likely to drive the Congressional agenda for decades to come. The book provides revealing insights into the sometimes-contradictory Congressional responsibilities of representation and lawmaking; oversight and appropriation; and managing and organizing the government. It includes a case study (on the formation of the Department of Homeland Security) that sheds light on Congress's often-complicated procedures. The book also includes boxed features on Congressional action - highlighting such topics as file sharing and student loans - that show students how Congress's work affects their lives. Chapter-ending lists of web resources add to the book's usefulness.

Former Secretary of State and CIA Director Mike Pompeo spearheaded the Trump Administration's most significant foreign policy breakthroughs. Now, he reveals how he did it, and how it could happen again. Mike Pompeo is the only person ever to have served as both America's most senior diplomat and the head of its premier espionage agency. As the only four-year national security member of President Trump's Cabinet, he worked to impose crushing pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran, avert a nuclear crisis with North Korea, deliver unmatched support for Israel, and bring peace to the Middle East. Drawing on his commitment to America's founding principles and his Christian faith, his efforts to promote religious freedom around the world were unequaled in American diplomatic history. Most importantly, he led a much-needed generational transformation of America's relationship with China. Blending remarkable and often humorous stories of his interactions with world leaders and unmatched analysis of geopolitics, Never Give an Inch tells of how Pompeo helped the Trump Administration craft the America First approach that upended Washington wisdom-and made him America's enemies' worst nightmare. It is a raw account of what it took to deliver winning outcomes in the face of a progressive activist media, partisan conspiracies, two impeachments and endless investigations, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Complete with a road map of the trends and players shaping the world today, Never Give an Inch is more than a historical review of the Trump Administration's greatest victories. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the challenges of the future. And it is an inspirational story of leadership through dangerous times that will leave you with a greater appreciation for America.

At a time when Latin America is experiencing societal unrest from human rights violations, corruption and weak institutions Government and Governance of Security offers an insightful understanding for the modern steering of crime policies. Using Chile as a case study, the book delivers an untold account of the trade-offs between political, judicial and policing institutions put in practice to confront organised crime since the country's redemocratisation. In an effort to encompass the academic fields of political science, public policy and criminology, Carlos Solar challenges the current orthodoxies for understanding security and the promotion of the rule of law in developing states. His research aptly illuminates the practicalities of present-day governance and investigates how networks of institutions are formed and sustained across time and, subsequently, how these actors deal with issues of policy consensus and cooperation. To unveil the uniqueness of this on-the-ground action, the analysis is based on an extensive revision of public documents, legislation, media accounts and interviews conducted by the author with the key policy makers and officials dealing with crimes including drug-trafficking, money laundering and human smuggling. Government and Governance of Security will be of interest to scholars of Latin American studies, security and governance and development.

The representation of women in parliament is a subject of extensive research and a focus for political action in the last decade. The wide variation in women's parliamentary presence contradicts the expectation that established or consolidated democracies are more supportive of the presence of women in political life than emerging democracies. This volume explains this variation through a series of closely investigated case studies from the post-Communist transition democracies of Eastern Europe and emerging democracies in Asia and the Middle East to the long-established liberal democratic states. The volume examines the history of women's legislative involvement, clearly addressing the issue of equal opportunities for women in political life on a cross-national basis. It also identifies innovative solutions to redress the power-sharing balance between women and men. Offering a unique comparative perspective, Sharing Power will appeal to students and scholars of politics, women's studies, history and legislative studies.

Southern European Parliaments in Democracy analyses the development of the parliaments of Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Turkey since the mid-1980s. This book considers the challenges of the transition to democracy and outlines how the Parliaments of Southern Europe have adapted to the pressures of a democratic polity. Its focus is an assessment of the main changes that have taken place since the periods of transition to democracy right up to the present day. Chapters are country specific and consider a variety of indicators, from legislation and scrutiny to the social background of MPs.

This book was previously published as a special issue of the Journal of Legislative Studies.

From five-time #1 New York Times bestselling author, radio host, and "one of the conservative moment's most influential voices" (The Washington Times) Mark R. Levin comes a searing plea for a return to America's most sacred values. In Rediscovering Americanism, Mark R. Levin revisits the founders' warnings about the perils of overreach by the federal government and concludes that the men who created our country would be outraged and disappointed to see where we've ended up. Levin returns to the impassioned question he's explored in each of his bestselling books: How do we save our exceptional country? Because our values are in such a precarious state, he argues that a restoration to the essential truths on which our country was founded has never been more urgent. Understanding these principles, in Levin's words, can "serve as the antidote to tyrannical regimes and governments." Rediscovering Americanism is not an exercise in nostalgia, but an appeal to his fellow citizens to reverse course. This essential book brings Levin's celebrated, sophisticated analysis to the troubling question of America's future, and reminds us what we must restore for the sake of our children and our children's children.

Striving to redirect the study of public administration toward innovation and imagination, deliberative democracy, knowledge transfer, policy making, and ethics and values--topics which for too long have been overshadowed by traditional problems of efficency, productivity, and instrumental-rational solutions--this book of diverse essays is certain to invigorate both scholarship and practice. Eighteen leading international scholars evaluate public administration's historical development and explore the significance and value trends in public administration from a variety of cutting-edge theoretical and practical perspectives.

Aimed at students and practitioners alike, this collection of essays is certain to stimulate critical thinking and discussion of public administration's aims, mechanisms, and overall effectiveness, as well as the role it plays in democratizing countries.

Public administration has evolved into an extraordinarily complex form of governance employing traditional bureaucracy, quasi-government public organizations, and collaborative networks of nongovernmental organizations. Analyzing and improving government performance - a matter of increasing concern to citizens, elected officials, and managers of the organizations themselves - has in turn become a much more fraught undertaking. Understanding the new complexities calls for new research approaches, "The Art of Governance" presents a fresh palette of research based on a new framework of governance that was first developed by coeditor Laurence E. Lynn, Jr., with Carolyn J. Heinrich, and Carolyn J. Hill in their book, "Improving Governance: A New Logic for Empirical Research". That book identified how the relationships among citizens, legislatures, executive and organizational structures, and stakeholders interact, in order to better diagnose and solve problems in public management. This volume takes that relational concept into new realms of conceptualization and application as it links alternative institutional and administrative structures to program performance in different policy areas and levels of government. Collectively, the contributors begin to paint a new picture of how management matters throughout the policy process. They illuminate how, at different levels of an organization, leadership and management vary - and explore both the significance of structural systems and the importance of alternative organizational forms for the implementation of public policies. "The Art of Governance" shows that effective governance is much more complex than paint-by-number. But if the variety of forms and models of governance are analyzed using advanced theories, models, methods, and data, important lessons can be applied that can lead us to more successful institutions.

This book studies the current paradox within the voting literature on campaign contributions and legislative voting behavior. Specifically, while journalists and observers believe that the contributions significantly influence congressional votes, empirical evidence compiled by political scientists has generally failed to identify a systematic linkage between the two. At the same time, the amount of money contributed by interest groups is increasing and polls indicate that the public is becoming more cynical about the process.

The essential premise of critical social theory is that contemporary society is neither democratic nor free, but that modern global capitalism creates a citizenry satiated with consumer goods, unaware of alternative ways of living. In the public sector, critical theory suggests that governing systems are influenced if not controlled, by the wealthy and powerful, leaving public professionals to decide whether to serve those interests or the interests of a broader public. This book provides a framework for the application of critical social theory in public administration. Its goal is to encourage awareness among public administration scholars and practitioners of social conditions that tend to shape and constrain scholarship, practice, teaching, and social change. At a time when concern for public interest and a civil society have largely been displaced by the goals of economic efficiency and the "New Public Management," Critical Social Theory in Public Administration presents a viable alternative that incorporates the latest views of postmodern thinking with the central elements of critical social theory.

Fraud, corruption and bribery in and around public services have become an increasing concern in recent years. The reported level of fraud and corruption affecting the public sector has remained unacceptably high despite numerous national and international initiatives intended to tackle these crimes and their consequences. Fraud and Corruption in Public Services is a definitive, practical guide to the diverse risks that arise in central and local government. There is guidance on civil and criminal law around fraud, bribery and corruption as well as the national and international governmental measures and initiatives for countering this form of criminality. Most importantly of all, the book offers advice, practical examples and strategies for preventing and combating fraud, bribery and corruption. The text is readable, well-informed and intensely practical; illustrated throughout with real-life examples from the author's 40 year career.

The plethora of inquiry reports published in the fields of health and welfare in the 1990s covered the full range of user groups, individuals and institutions. What similarities or differences were there between these inquiries? How effective were they in bringing about change? Whose interest did they best serve? These are some of the questions The Age of the Inquiry explores in detail, bringing together distinguished contributors with personal experience of chairing or providing evidence to inquiries to consider: the participant's view of inquiries the purpose of inquiries the impact of inquiries on health and social policy inquiries into: child abuse and death; homicides by mental health service users; the abuse of adults with learning disabilities; the abuse of older people. Wide-ranging in scope, The Age of the Inquiry focuses on service and policy development. It provides an invaluable text for students, teachers and professionals from a wide range of disciplines and professional groups.

The plethora of inquiry reports published in the fields of health and welfare in the 1990s covered the full range of user groups, individuals and institutions. What similarities or differences were there between these inquiries? How effective were they in bringing about change? Whose interest did they best serve? These are some of the questions The Age of the Inquiry explores in detail, bringing together distinguished contributors with personal experience of chairing or providing evidence to inquiries to consider: the participant's view of inquiries the purpose of inquiries; the impact of inquiries on health and social policy; inquiries into: child abuse and death; homicides by mental health service users; the abuse of adults with; learning disabilities; the abuse of older people. Wide-ranging in scope, The Age of the Inquiry focuses on service and policy development. It provides an invaluable text for students, teachers and professionals from a wide range of disciplines and professional groups.

When Ukraine became independent in 1991, it inherited an underdeveloped set of state institutions with which to manage its transformation to statehood. The task of establishing a legal base for the operation of the new polity was the responsibility of the parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, an institution itself undergoing colossal upheaval. From 1991, it was transformed from a provincial republican Soviet into the national legislature of a sovereign state and from a nominal, symbolic body into a genuine legislative and representative institution. Therefore, the process of building parliament as an institution has been integral to and part of the legislature's engagement in the wider state-building process. This book considers the Rada's development as an essential component of state-building in Ukraine. It examines internal institutional change by focusing on the emergence of party caucuses and transformation of standing committees, and explores the impact of these changes on the legislative process. This is the first in-depth study of Ukraine's parliament and is based on extensive fieldwork inside the Rada. As such, it offers not only an intimate case study of how institutions change

This volume is an overview of, and commentary on, aspects of contemporary India and its socio-economic policies. It focuses on India's economy and society in recent years, and in the process it addresses structural issues of development such as those of population, poverty, inequality, health, and social exclusion. It reviews the adequacy and appropriateness of governmental response to these problems, in terms of public policy, narrowly conceived, and philosophical orientation, more broadly conceived. The concern is not only with economic achievement and human development but also with the framework of civic rights, personal liberty, and institutional autonomy within which the exercise of governance is perceived to be carried out. The essays in this volume were originally written with the general-reader-as-involved-citizen very much in mind as the intended target. However, it should also be of interest to scholars of economics, political science, development studies, and South Asian studies.

One of the persistent claims made about the public sector over the past several decades has been that the public service has become more politicized. Addressing this important area of debate within public administration, this book discusses conceptions and measurements of politicization, as well as some of its causes and consequences. Using a comparative framework, the authors collected here confront the issue of politicization, identifying the nature and extent of political involvement and assessing the real impact of any changes on the legitimacy and effectiveness of the political system. The book addresses issues such as: compensation; appointments made from outside the civil service system; anonymity; partisanship; and systems to handle appointees of prior administrations. This useful study contains case studies of the US, Canada, Germany, France, Sweden, Denmark, Britain, New Zealand, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Greece. It should appeal to all those interested in public administration and the civil service in particular.

Reflecting current understanding of the complexities of sexual activity among persons with chronic mental illness, the text draws upon the collective wisdom and experience of experts from a variety of settings. Clinicians, advocates, consumers, researchers, legal experts, and administrators all contribute to document the concerns about sexual behavior and the consequent health risks for this at-risk population. The research presented here is particularly timely in view of recent emphases on patient choice, recovery, and advocacy, and can be used to provide guidance to clinicians, mental health administrators, policymakers, advocates, and researchers.

This volume begins where the first DAring book of 1995 finished by considering what effects the rules had on legislative output during the same period. It addresses four distinct yet complementary research topics: - the connection between a number of veto players and law production in West European parliamentary democracies - the impact of closed versus open rules - the effects of committee structure and organization on the degree of conflict or consensus on the procedure of passing legislation - the importance of agenda setting and agenda control for the prevention of cycling across issues and the distribution of particular benefits of shifting and transient majorities. Fundamental to this volume is the ability of the project group to fashion an original data set. As a consequence, this volume is able to ascertain the extent to which parliamentary procedures contributed to shaping policy output in this field during the 1980s.

The subject of this book is one of the most central and timely in Public Administration - how to make sense of critical theory, and (especially) how to assess its implications for everyday practice. Charles Frederick Abel and Arthur Sementelli argue that Evolutionary Critical Theory - a synergistic employment of the methodologies of traditional social science, institutionalism, and hermeneutics - provides fresh insights into the core issues of Public Administration theory and practice. While some may argue that public administration theory is an oxymoron, this ground-breaking volume explodes that notion and argues that Evolutionary Critical Theory is an especially helpful and powerful tool for administrative scholars and practitioners in their quest to realize good government.

This book is unique in analysing the new Scottish Parliament from a systematically comparative perspective. Its basic premise is that since devolution in 1999 Scotland can be considered a Scandinavian-style democracy with several features of a Scandinavian-style parliament. The basic research question, therefore, is: 'Has the Scottish Parliament in its first four-year term manifested a Scandinavian-style politics in the sense that there has been a high incidence of inter-party negotiation within parliament?' The architects of the Scottish Parliament saw the committees as the motor of a 'new politics' and gave them extensive powers. Outside Austria, only the Swedish and Icelandic committees have comparable powers. Accordingly, the study sets out to describe and analyse the workings of the committees in the Scottish, Swedish and Icelandic parliaments. The concluding chapter also discusses the operation of the Danish, Finnish and Norwegian committees. The book draws on in-depth interviews with the chairs of the Scottish, Swedish and Icelandic committees. The first six chapters are organised around the theme 'The Scottish Parliamentary Committees. The Motor of a New Politics?' Chapters