This volume brings together French and British scholars of France to analyse one of French politics' most intellectually compelling phenomena, the presidency of the republic. It examines the strengths and weaknesses of that leadership as well as the way that executive power has been established in the Fifth Republic; how presidential power and the subsequent full scale development of "personality politics" developed within an essentially party-driven, democratic and, most importantly, republican system. Hence the authors in this volume examine the phenomenon of a strong presidency in the French republican framework. The individual chapters focus on the presidency and upon the individual presidents and the way in which they have addressed their own relation to the presidencies they presided over on top of a range of other factors informing their terms of office. A conclusion sums up and appraises the contemporary role of the French presidency within the party system and the republic. The project has generated a great deal of interest in the French political studies community.

E-government has emerged not merely as a specialization in public administration but as a transformative force affecting all leaves and functions in government. Digital Government: Principles and Best Practices, written by a collection of practitioners and researchers, provides an overview of the management challenges and issues involved in seeking a new form of governance - digital government.

Carolyn Ban breaks new ground by analyzing the European Commission from a public management perspective. Based on extensive interviews conducted over six years, it explores how the European Commission faced the challenge of enlargement, how it recruited and socialized thousands of new staff members, and its success in integrating newcomers. It argues that nationality was less important in understanding the newcomers than expected and, conversely, that gender was more important than expected, as one of the major effects of enlargement was to shift the organization's gender balance. It includes an analysis of language use and language politics as an important part of organizational culture. The work provides a lively and readable picture of life within the Commission. Melding management with sociology, anthropology, and linguistics, contributes to the growing literature on international organizations. It will be of interest to scholars, practitioners, students, and to those who hope to pursue international careers.

Comparative study of public enterprise management in different countries around the world, pointing to historical trends and current issues and problems. Experts survey an interesting collection of countries in the Americas, Asia, the Middle/Near East, Europe, and Australia. They also discuss public enterprise management education. References with each chapter contribute to the usefulness of this assessment for political scientists, public administrators, international businessmen, and those engaged in international studies.

The introduction of new public management first in the UK and subsequently in most other European member states has been the subject of a great deal of interest within the last decade. However, the impact of this on personnel policies and practices has been less well documented, although they have had far reaching effects. This book seeks to fill that gap by mapping out the changes in personnel management occurring throughout Europe and, in particular, evaluating the changes that have been driven by the move to greater flexibility and market responsiveness in public personnel policies including an examination of the US for comparative purposes.

Now a 6-part mini-series called Why the Rest of Us Die airing on VICE TV! The shocking truth about the government's secret plans to survive a catastrophic attack on US soil--even if the rest of us die--is "a frightening eye-opener" (Kirkus Reviews) that spans the dawn of the nuclear age to today, and "contains everything one could possibly want to know" (The Wall Street Journal). Every day in Washington, DC, the blue-and-gold first Helicopter Squadron, codenamed "MUSSEL," flies over the Potomac River. As obvious as the Presidential motorcade, most people assume the squadron is a travel perk for VIPs. They're only half right: while the helicopters do provide transport, the unit exists to evacuate high-ranking officials in the event of a terrorist or nuclear attack on the capital. In the event of an attack, select officials would be whisked by helicopters to a ring of secret bunkers around Washington, even as ordinary citizens were left to fend for themselves. "In exploring the incredible lengths (and depths) that successive administrations have gone to in planning for the aftermath of a nuclear assault, Graff deftly weaves a tale of secrecy and paranoia" (The New York Times Book Review) with details "that read like they've been ripped from the pages of a pulp spy novel" (Vice). For more than sixty years, the US government has been developing secret Doomsday strategies to protect itself, and the multibillion-dollar Continuity of Government (COG) program takes numerous forms--from its potential to evacuate the Liberty Bell from Philadelphia to the plans to launch nuclear missiles from a Boeing-747 jet flying high over Nebraska. Garrett M. Graff sheds light on the inner workings of the 650-acre compound, called Raven Rock, just miles from Camp David, as well as dozens of other bunkers the government built for its top leaders during the Cold War, from the White House lawn to Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado to Palm Beach, Florida, and the secret plans that would have kicked in after a Cold War nuclear attack to round up foreigners and dissidents and nationalize industries. Equal parts a presidential, military, and cultural history, Raven Rock tracks the evolution of the government plan and the threats of global war from the dawn of the nuclear era through the War on Terror.

This book explores how political structures and relations affect the 'black box of power' between governmental levels. It draws on case studies in Canada, the UK and continental Europe to illustrate how the design of political structures and the relative hierarchy of the relations between actors affect how governments deliver services.

Governments are more than formal political institutions, they are places of work for thousands of women and men, and powerful social, cultural, and economic sites that shape the lives of all people. This collection demonstrates how anthropologists can enrich our understandings of government by exploring the labor of those who govern, and how the dynamics of culture are at the heart of government actions that justify, modify, and reproduce political action. By assembling original, ethnographically-grounded research in legislatures, executives, and bureaucracies, this volume illuminates and unpacks the structures, practices, and values of government actors in local, regional, and national contexts.

The four years of the Bush presidency cover a momentous era in American and world history. In international affairs the events in Eastern Europe and the then Soviet Union in late 1989 gave the President a high profile. The advent of the 'New World Order' made the United States pre-eminent: the triumph of the West was assured, with the added bonus of the 'peace dividend' as arms control agreements and defense savings seemed imminent. The President's personal popularity flourished in this climate and reached a new peak with the triumph of the allied forces in the Gulf War. The Gulf conflict saw Bush at his most decisive: firm in his moral stance, skilled in his action to bring together allied support backed by the United Nations, and confident in his handling of public opinion.

This is part of a series of three volumes which provides a critical assessment of the actual achievement of this university professor, who became the first President of Czechoslovakia. They assess Masaryk's value as a national and international politician as well as a scholar and publicist. Individual chapters consider such topics as his parliamentary activities, his contribution to the feminist movement, his involvement in the Austrian equivalent to the Dreyfus trial, his theories of Czech and particularly Russian cultural history and his sociological studies of literature.

The series offers a detailed look at the 60 most important federal jobs filled by presidential appointment in the crucial science and technology work of goverment.

George W. Bush is widely regarded as a president of transformative significance. This volume analyzes the ambitious but controversial agenda that he has pursued at home and abroad. The contributors assess Bush's presidency in terms of its historical context, first-term record, and second-term prospects. They consider his administration from the perspective of its engagement in an ideologically driven project to consolidate conservative ascendancy over U.S. politics and public policy and to promote America's interests and values in the unipolar world. They evaluate the elements of political change and continuity in George Bush's America. The book also focuses on the extent to which the Bush agenda is new or a continuation of previous trends. Contributors also examine how far Bush has succeeded in overcoming political, institutional, and international resistance to his conservative agenda, and they evaluate his prospects for further success. Contributors include John Dumbrell (University of Leicester, UK), Martin Durham (University of Wolverhampton, UK), Godfrey Hodgson (Rothermere American Institute, Oxford University, UK), Steven Hurst (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK), Klaus Larres (Royal Holloway College, University of London, UK), Bob McKeever (University of Reading, UK), John Owens (University of Westminster, UK), Rob Singh (Birkbeck College, University of London, UK), and Alex Waddan (University of Sunderland, UK).

Unlike many of her female contemporaries during the thirties and forties, whose political activities furthered the agendas of male politicians, Frieda B. Hennock pursued her own political goals. Guided by intense personal and public interests, she became the first woman appointed to serve on the Federal Communications Commission, and her tenure there coincided with a period of unprecedented regulatory activity, during which the FCC made several significant decisions regarding the development of television. Simultaneously challenging the FCC's status quo and making a political name for herself with her tireless efforts to develop educational television, Hennock became one of the most significant female political figures of this century.

Utilizing both critical and historical research methodologies, Brinson highlights key events in Hennock's career, including her dissenting position in the color TV hearings and her blindness to the deficiencies of the UHF system. "Personal and Public Interests" serves as a much-needed corrective to the scholarly oversight of Hennock's life and work, which represent the intersection of the histories of both broadcasting and women in the United States. More than mere biography, this insightful work examines the union of history, technology, and personality, creating a vivid portrait of both a woman and her era.

Since 2011, Myanmar has experienced many changes to its social, political and economic landscape. The formation of a new government in 2016, led by the National League for Democracy, was a crucially important milestone in the country's transition to a more inclusive form of governance. And yet, for many people everyday struggles remain unchanged, and have worsened in recent years. Key economic, social and political reforms have stalled, conflict persists, and longstanding issues of citizenship and belonging remain. The wide-ranging challenges of living with Myanmar are the subject of this volume. Each other offers a different perspective on the socio-political and economic mutations occurring in the country and the challenges that still remain. The book is divided into six sections, and covers critical issues ranging from gender equality and identity politics to agrarian reform and the representative role parliament. Collectively, these voices raise key questions concerning the institutional legacies of military rule and their ongoing role in subverting the country's reform process. However, they also offer insights in the creative and productive ways the Myanmar's activists, civil society, parliamentarians, bureaucrats and everyday people attempt to engage with and reform those legacies.

This book explores the ways in which France's relations with the international community have evolved in a period of accelerating globalization.It is one of the only books in English to focus specifically on modern France's international dimension and on global trends. It addresses core questions in current debates related to the role of the nation state and its capacity for political initiative in a globalized world. It brings together experts from various fields of French studies.This book examines the ways in which France's relations with the international community have evolved in a period of accelerating globalization. It considers the role of the nation state, and its capacity for political initiative, examining French strategies to reinforce French influence on the world stage.

This volume, from the Policy Studies Organization, examines the role of presidential leadership in the development and implementation of civil rights policy in the United States. Covering a broad time period, the work takes a social scientific approach to the understanding of civil rights, utilizing both quantitative and archival research. The editors attempt to place and analyze civil rights in context--as a policy arena representative of broader presidential leadership concerns--and look at the development of civil rights policy since Brown v. Board of Education from the perspectives of (1) the public, (2) government institutions, and (3) particular policy arenas.

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.

Sander chronicles changes in the Executive Office of the President (EOP) paralleling change and expansion in the federal government, the executive branch, and the office of the president, from its inception to the end of the Truman administration. . . . In his intriguing analysis of the historical dialectic surrounding theoretical questions about EOP Sander shines, showing the multi-colored underwear of a gray-flannel organization. The EOP becomes the playing field of a dynamic contest among differing constitutional and theoretical views. Sander has written a book about what could be a dull and lifeless topic, and made it enjoyable. Choice The creation of a staff to aid the chief executive in his immense management task was a crucial element in the development of the modern presidency. Focusing on the period that witnessed the most extensive changes in the executive branch, this book traces the evolution of the executive office of the President, and looks at the complex ways in which this organization has affected both the president's role and the operation of the federal government. Sander explores the political and administrative issues raised by the creation of a separate corps of careerists serving the president and independent of the departments and concludes with an assessment of various proposals aimed at reorganizing and controlling the appointment and functions of the presidential staff. Following a historical overview of major shifts in the presidential role, the author discusses the gradual increase in presidential staff and institutional support that occurred in the 1920s. Sander next examines the evolution of Roosevelt's executive office and the important precedents that were set during his administration. The primary focus of the book is on the major expansion of the presidential staff that occurred during Truman's tenure. When Truman left office, the basic staff services that enable the president to carry out his duties were in place. These were the Bureau of the Budget, the Council of Economic Advisors, the National Security Resources Board, and the National Security Council. Providing new insights on the forces and events that have shaped the institution of the presidency, this book will be of particular interest to those in the fields of political science, American political history, American public policy and public administration.

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.

When Dwight Eisenhower ran for president he was so confident that he could organize the Executive Office more effectively than his predecessor that he made it an issue in the campaign of 1952. When he entered office he found that Congress had given him just two months to reorganize the Council of Economic Advisers or see it dissolved. The changes he made in the Council still form the basis of its organization. This book, based largely on original sources, attempts to analyze what Eisenhower did and did not do, and how well the mechanisms he installed worked.

This study analyzes the United States policies regarding China during the administration of President George W. Bush. Chi Wang examines the relationship between the United States and China from its tense origins to its current stability and shows that the China policy of the U.S. is ultimately based on pragmatic national interest that eventually overcomes short-term ideological difficulties or mistakes by inexperienced American administrations. Briefly touching on the China-policy legacy of Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, Wang provides a review of significant developments in U.S.-China policy during President George W. Bush's first term in office. By following with an analysis of the varied agendas of Bush's foreign policy advisors during his second term, readers are able to trace the influence of advisors on the president's China policy. Wang chronicles the reordering of U.S. security priorities after September 11, showing how this prompted Washington to embrace China in a measured partnership and has resulted in the short-term stabilization of U.S.-China relations.