In July 1969, while the Rolling Stones played a free concert in Hyde Park, Alan Johnson and his young family left West London to start a new life. The Britwell Estate in Slough, apparently notorious among the locals, in fact came as a blessed relief after the tensions of Notting Hill, and the local community welcomed them with open arms. Alan had become a postman the previous year, and in order to support his growing family took on every bit of overtime he could, often working twelve-hour shifts six days a week. It was hard work, but not without its compensations - the crafty fag snatched in a country lane, the farmer's wife offering a hearty breakfast and even the mysterious lady on Glebe Road who appeared daily, topless, at her window as the postman passed by... Please, Mister Postman paints a vivid picture of England in the 1970s, where no celebration was complete without a Party Seven of Watney's Red Barrel, smoking was the norm rather than the exception, and Sunday lunchtime was about beer, bingo and cribbage. But as Alan's life appears to be settling down and his career in the Union of Postal Workers begins to take off, his close-knit family is struck once again by tragedy... Moving, hilarious and unforgettable, Please, Mister Postman is another astonishing book from the award-winning author of This Boy.

In The Cost of Winning, Michael H. Cosgrove describes how the United States used economic policies to contain the Soviet Union during the post-World War n era and how those policies turned a vibrant American economy into one of broken promises and declining power. Cosgrove defines and examines the five economic building blocks used to contain the Soviets in America's Golden Age: the Marshall Plan, free trade, federal income tax policy, the American defense umbrella, and plentiful and cheap oil from the Middle East. He explains how policies supporting these building blocks allowed U.S. taxpayers to both contain the Soviets and enjoy a rapidly rising standard of living. America's economic superstate began to crumble, however, with President Nixon's August 1971 decision to abandon the gold quasi-standard and Saudi Arabia's 1973 decision to cut oil shipments to America. Lean years for the American economy set in. When the American economy could no longer deliver the American dream, entitlements were increased in an attempt to fill the gap between expectations and what the private sector could provide. Since the early 1970s, real purchasing power has been steadily eroding for approximately 75 million private sector workers. The American dream that a good education would lead to a decent job and a rising standard of living in a safe neighborhood has been dashed. Violent crime in America increases while expenditures on public safety rapidly increase. Will America be the first world power to reverse its relative decline? Cosgrove maintains that Congress must initiate the upward process by restructuring itself. Rather than meeting in Washington, D.C., Congress should meet a maximum three to four months per year at a different site each year to achieve "American revitalization." Cosgrove's solutions to the problems of crime include law enforcement through use of bounty hunters to identify and capture alleged criminals, and to establish a fixed penalty system for violent crimes to make costs of committing crime clearer to everyone. Certain to be controversial, this intriguing examination of the state of affairs in the United States, and the author's recommended policies will be compelling reading for sociologists, policymakers, economists, and scholars with an interest in applied public policy for the long haul.

How do Russian leaders balance the need to decentralize governance in a socially and politically complex country with the need to guarantee political control of the state? Since the early 2000s Russian federal authorities have arranged a system of political control on regional elites and their leaders, providing a "police control" of special bodies subordinated by the federal center on policy implementation in the regions. Different mechanisms of fiscal federalism and investment policy have been used to ensure regional elites' loyalty and a politically centralized but administratively decentralized system has been created. Asking clear, direct, and theoretically informed questions about the relationship between federalism, decentralization and authoritarianism, this book explores the political survival of authoritarian leaders, the determinants of policy formulation, and theories of federalism and decentralization, to reach a new understanding of territorial governance in contemporary Russia. As such, it is an important work for students and researchers in Russian studies and regional and federal studies.

This book traces the trajectory of the Indian Parliament from its formation to present day. The essays presented here explore parliamentary democracy through the formative years and highlight the Parliament's function as a representative and accountable institution, its procedures and responsibility, its connection with the other arms of the state, its relationship with grassroots democracy and the press, and its critical role in framing foreign policy and national security. The volume frames major debates surrounding the Parliament through historical, conceptual and contemporary political perspectives. It also looks at how politics in practice is being continuously changed and challenged by new social media and further views the transformation of India's apex legislative institution in terms of democratizing processes, constitutional values and changing mores. The book will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of Indian politics, history, comparative politics, political science and modern India.

Essentially, good governance is the primary mission of the public sector. Effective policy management is a crucial component of good governance if the desired improvements in society are to be achieved. A thorough understanding of the nature, content, processes and outcomes of public policy is not only imperative for continually improving public sector governance, but also vital for establishing good public management on a daily basis. The fourth edition of Improving public policy for good governance has been updated and revised substantially. It focuses on integrating the functionally specialised agencies of government, business, labour and civil society into a holistic and efficient policy network. This is necessary in an attempt to deal with the complexities of transformational leadership while addressing optimal development and public services delivery in society, amidst an ever advancing digital era that is under increasing resource constraints. This book bridges the theory and practice of public policy by linking them in a user-friendly manner. It explains what public policy is and should be, why and how it is created, and how public policy content, processes, outputs and outcomes can be improved to promote optimal good governance. Furthermore, it shows how to achieve sustainable developmental goals in the information society of the 21st century, particularly in complex developing countries. This edition also contains a new chapter on competing values and the ethics of public policy. Among other issues, it addresses the intractable problems of corruption and nepotism that are endemic to any policy system. Each chapter also includes references to the latest published South African and international resources on various aspects of public policy. Improving public policy for good governance is essential reading material for all students, researchers and practitioners in the field of public policy who require knowledge, insight and/or practical skills in this important field. All contributors are experienced public-policy educators, practitioners and evaluators. Fanie Cloete is Emeritus Professor of Policy Analysis in the Department of Public Management and Governance at the University of Johannesburg, as well as in the School of Public Leadership at Stellenbosch University. He is also a legacy chair of the SA Monitoring and Evaluation Association. Christo de Coning is Professor Extraordinaire in the School for Public Leadership at Stellenbosch University, as well as the Founding Board Member of the Foundation for Sport, Development and Peace, and the Managing Director of the Institute for Sport and Development. Henry Wissink is Professor of Public Governance at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He is also the former Dean and Head of the School of Management, IT and Governance at UKZN and former Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Commerce and Governmental Studies at the former PE Technikon, which became the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU). Babette Rabie is a Senior Lecturer and Head of the master's programme at the School of Public Leadership, Stellenbosch University. She is currently the Book Review Editor for the international journal Evaluation and Program Planning (Elsevier) and a legacy chair of the SA Monitoring and Evaluation Association (SAMEA).

Jim Bishop's trademark suspenseful, hour-by-hour storytelling style drives this account of an unforgettable day in American history. Culled from interviews with more than three hundred individuals, his retelling tracks all the major and minor characters of that day--JFK, Oswald, Ruby, LBJ, Jackie, and others--illuminating a human drama that many readers believe they know well. At once moving and terrifying, and filled with vivid detail, it delivers the haunting feeling of being there as the day's events unfolded in both Dallas and Washington.

As gripping as fiction but with a journalist's exacting detail, The Day Kennedy Was Shot captures the action, mystery, and drama that unfolded on November 22, 1963.

This book aims to provide a better understanding of the mission of public interest lawyers and stimulate thought about ways to energize and build a movement that advances social justice. It gives encouragement to law students to enter the field of public interest law.

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.

This title was first published in 2001. This sustained and rigorous theoretical treatment of the choices made by politicians regarding quasi-autonomous non-governmental organizations (quangos) makes compelling reading for both practitioners and academics alike.

One of the most significant factors for contemporary international relations is the growth of China's economic, military, and political power. Indeed, few analysts would dispute the observation that China's power has strongly influenced the structure of the international system, major-power strategic relations, international security, the patterns of trans-border economic activities, and most importantly, the political and security dynamics in Asia in the twenty-first century. This book maps the growth of China's political, economic, and military capabilities and its impact on the security order in Asia over the coming decades. While updating the emerging power dimensions and prevailing discourse, it provides a nuanced analysis of whether the growth of Chinese power is resulting in Beijing becoming more assertive, or even aggressive, in its behavior and pursuit of national interests. It also examines how the key Asian countries perceive and react to the growth of China's power and how US rebalancing would play out in the context of Beijing's political, economic, and military power. China's Power and Asian Security will be of huge interest to student and scholars of Asian politics, Chinese politics, security studies and international security and international relations more generally.

Why does it feel like no matter what happens in American politics, the Democrats still get their way? When he left Congress in 2017, Jason Chaffetz still thought elections could save us. For generations, conservatives have hoped that freedom-loving congressional majorities could turn back the tide and restore America’s liberties and prosperity. But now, he says, winning elections will not be enough. Increasingly, the work of government is being done by people outside the government—unelected power brokers who are invisible to the American public but who pull the strings, set the agendas, create the incentives, and write the rules we must all live by. Using both government and non-governmental institutions, leftists have bypassed the legislative process to compel institutional compliance with partisan goals. The White House or the Congress may change hands, but the left remains in power. In The Puppeteers, Chaffetz reveals how: Susan Rice was put in charge of using the bureaucracy to make sure Republicans never win another election The federal government now could be deployed to harvest ballots from Democrats President Biden hired a Blackrock executive to run his economic agenda for the first two years of his presidency State treasurers planned to use billions of government dollars to “address climate change” and “racial inequality,” with almost no way for voters to stop them Randi Weingarten makes more decisions for the education department than people who actually work there Electing the right leaders is no longer enough. To take back our country, the American people need to understand that they’re in a new fight. But it’s a fight that’s still eminently winnable, and Chaffetz reveals the playbook.

Covers the momentous reforms in the British electoral system during the period from the Great Reform Act of 1832 to 1918 when women were given the vote. The study charts the series of Reform Acts right through the period, involving rather more attention to those important changes in the 1880s which are often underplayed.

The book reveals the interconnection between social, cultural and political protest movements and social and economic changes in a post-communist country like Russia still dominated by bureaucratic rulers and "oligarchs" controlling all basic industries and mining activities. Those interests are also dominating Russia's foreign policy and explain why Russia did not succeed in becoming an integral part of Europe. The latter is, at least, wished by many Russian citizens.

This text provides an introduction to state and local politics. It focuses on the political and economic environment in which state and local governments function, and their strengths and weaknesses in key areas of public policy.

In 1986, after the disastrous accident at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, Congress passed the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act. Under this act, many business facilities became subject to new reporting requirements with respect to the presence of hazardous substances. Hadden, an associate professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, conducted surveys relating to this act.

An understanding of the role of energy-related governance systems and the conditions required for a shift towards renewables in developing countries is urgently needed in order to tap into the global potential of low-carbon development. Although renewable energy sources have become technically feasible and economically viable, social and political factors continue to persist as the most critical obstacles for their dissemination. How Power Shapes Energy Transitions in Southeast Asia conceptualizes power for the field of sustainable energy governance. Based on empirical findings from the Philippines and Indonesia, the book develops an analytical approach that incorporates power theory into a multi-level governance framework. The book begins with a profound background on renewable energy development around the world and presents major trends in development cooperation. A power-based multi-level governance approach is introduced that is rooted in development thinking. Examining how coordination and power relations shape the development and dissemination of renewable energy technologies, the book also shows how decentralization affects low carbon development in emerging economies. Sparking debate on the ways in which energy transitions can be triggered and sustained in developing countries, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of renewable energy development and environmental politics and governance as well as practitioners in development cooperation.

This volume on the Reagan and Bush years provides a collection of National Security Council records from the two most recent administrations. It includes 250 previously classified directives gathered through Freedom of Information Act requests, archival research, and the study of court records.

The State of the African Cities 2010 goes above and beyond the first report, which provided a general overview of housing and urban management issues in Africa. With the subtitle: Governance, inequity and urban land markets, the report uncovers critical urban issues and challenges in African cities, using social and urban geography as the overall entry points. While examining poverty, slum incidence and governance, the report sheds more light on inequity in African cities, and in this respect follows the main theme of the global State of the World's Cities 2010 report. Through a regional analysis, the report delves deeper into the main urban challenges facing African cities, while provoking dialogue and discussion on the role of African cities in improving national, regional and local economies through sustainable and equitable development. The report has been drafted in cooperation with Urban Land Mark. Through an analytical survey of several African cities, the report examines urban growth, social conditions in slums, environmental and energy issues and, especially, the role of urban land markets in accessing land and housing.

With a public career spanning 62 years, Gladstone dominated the Victorian political arena. Yet he remains an enigmatic figure; a high Anglican, Tory protectionist who became leader of the Liberals, a party associated with free trade and religious Nonconformity. Michael Winstanley examines both Gladstone and the environment in which he operated, concentrating in particular on the political and social composition of the party which he led. He argues that the parliamentary `Gladstonian Liberals' were far from unqualified supporters of Gladstone and that much of his power was derived from his popularity amongst the electorate. He concludes with an assessment of Gladstone's achievements and his political legacy.

Here Graves provides a summary of conflicting interpretations of Elizabethan parliaments and seeks to present a different perspective - striking a balance between business and politics. This revised edition takes account of recent literature - including work on patronage, parliamentary management and the Men of Business. A selection of documents illustrate the political, organizational and functional aspects of parliament.

Disraeli is a key figure for students of nineteenth-century Britain. He is indelibly identified with the unmaking of Peel's version of the Conservative Party, and with the re-creation of a durable and outstandingly successful new party which retained the loyalty of the squires and the shires while reaching out to newer forms of property ownership and cultivating the attachment of a significant proportion of the urban working class. John K. Walton here examines the major aspects of Disraeli's career and his legacy, asking how far his actions and policies were governed by principles and how far by expediency. He also enquires how far Disraeli set his own agenda and how far he was a rider of currents out of his control. Finally, Walton takes a careful look at his political, institutional and ideological legacy.

Activists - protecting rainforests, demanding increased childcare, developing local community housing, campaigning for AIDS funding or protecting consumers - are as much part of the political landscape as the media, parliament, peak industry groups, political parties or trade unions. This collection explores the idea of policy activism and its relationship to the processes that not only set but implement and deliver the policy agenda. Policy activists operate both inside and outside government. They include community-based organisers, activist bureaucrats, service providers and professionals. Policy activism has been barely explored in existing literature. This collection puts the idea on the map. It is an innovative contribution to the literature, using case studies across a broad range of policy areas. 'This volume opens the window on an aspect of the policy process that rarely receives attention from students of politics or policy anywhere across the globe. The framework presented and the cases included in these pages provide a glimpse of the workings of a complex democracy, describing a range of actors responding creatively to the dynamics of social, political and economic change. It is fascinating to see how policy functions and social values appear to be more important to these processes than the formal structures of the government in which they are placed.' - Beryl A. Radin, Professor of Public Administration and Policy, State University of New York at Albany

From the 1980s onwards, a tide of democratization swept across the Asian region, as the political strongmen who had led since the end of World War II began to fall. Although it is generally assumed that once authoritarian leaders no longer hold power, the political landscape will drastically change and the democratic transition will simply be a matter of time, this book shows that the move towards democracy in Asia has by no means been linear process, and there have been a number of different outcomes that reflect the vastly divergent paths towards liberalization the Asian nations have followed. This book examines seven countries that were previously under authoritarian or semi-authoritarian rule, but then followed very different trajectories towards increasing liberalization after the fall of political strongmen: South Korea, Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Importantly, the case studies reveal the factors that may enable transition to a more democratic system, and alternatively, the factors that inhibit democratic transition and push countries down a more authoritarian path. In turn, three key models that follow the fall of a political strongman emerge: democratization with substantial political reform and consolidation; democratization with limited political reform, leading to weak democratic institutions and instability; and an alternative political system with sustained authoritarianism. By tracing these very different paths and outcomes in the wake of a strongman's fall, the contributors present valuable information for countries on the course towards democratization, as well as governments and organisations who work to facilitate this process. This book will be welcomed by students and scholars interested in Asian politics, governance and democratization studies.