Political parties can make or break women's attempts to stand for political office, yet there have been surprisingly few systematic studies into the 'secret garden' of political recruitment. This book investigates this under-researched area, bringing together insights from feminist and new institutional theory to explore and understand the gendered dynamics of institutional innovation and change in candidate selection and recruitment. Drawing on an original empirical case study of candidate selection in post-devolution Scotland, Gender and Political Recruitment highlights the complex and gendered dynamics of institutional design, continuity and change in the political recruitment process and illustrates the difficulties of reforming recruitment in the face of powerful institutional and gendered legacies.

This book studies the dynamics of political discourse in governance processes. It demonstrates the process in which political discourses become normative mechanisms, first marking socially constructed realities in politics, second playing a role in delineating the subsequent policy frames, and third influencing the public sphere.

This collection of original essays deals with aspects of the history of the House of Lords in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, including the internal management of the Lords and its external influence.>

While globalization and the European construction increasingly undermine the model of the nation-state in the Mediterranean world, conversions reveal the capacity of religion to disrupt, and unsettle previous understandings of political and social relations. Converts' claims and practice are often met with the hostility of the state and the public while converts can often be perceived either as traitors or as unconscious and weak tools of foreign manipulation. Based on first-hand ethnographical research from several countries throughout the Mediterranean region, this book is the first of its kind in studying and analyzing contemporary conversions and their impact on recasting ideas of nationalism and citizenship. In doing so, this interdisciplinary study confronts historical, anthropological, political science and sociological approaches which offers an insight into the national, legal and political challenges of legislating for religious minorities that arise from conversions. Moreover, the specific examination of contemporary religious conversion contributes more widely to debates about the delinking of religion and culture, globalization, and secularism.

THE ALL-NEW DIARIES; "Alastair Campbell's diaries have the quality of Pepys ...people will be looking for insights and finding them in 100 years' time." Lord Alex CarlileLaunched to a blaze of critical acclaim, Alastair Campbell's explosive diaries became an instant classic. Now, this eagerly anticipated new volume picks up where its predecessor left off, with Campbell standing down as Tony Blair's director of communications in 2003. Leaving Downing Street, however, isn't as easy as it seems, with Campbell persistently drawn back to the epicentre of power - often to the frustration of his partner, Fiona.As Lord Hutton prepares to publish his report, thus sparking a huge crisis for the BBC, any joy in No. 10 is dwarfed by continuing difficulties in Iraq. Meanwhile, the Blair/Brown relationship is fracturing almost beyond repair, and Campbell is tasked with devising a plan that will enable the two men to fight a united election campaign. At home, Campbell writes frankly of his continuing battles with mental health issues as he attempts to adapt to a new life beyond the confines of Westminster.Lifting the lid on the power battles at the heart of the Labour Party that sowed the seeds of today's turmoil, Outside, Inside is a vivid and compelling insight into modern political history, and a candid reflection on the personal impact of life in the corridors of power.

Party Influence in Congress challenges current arguments and evidence about the influence of political parties in the US Congress. Steven S. Smith argues that theory must reflect policy, electoral, and collective party goals. These goals call for flexible party organizations and leadership strategies. They demand that majority party leaders control the flow of legislation; package legislation and time action to build winning majorities and attract public support; work closely with a president of their party; and influence the vote choices for legislators. Smith observes that the circumstantial evidence of party influence is strong, multiple collective goals remain active ingredients after parties are created, party size is an important factor in party strategy, both negative and positive forms of influence are important to congressional parties, and the needle-in-the-haystack search for direct influence continues to prove frustrating.

Since the first elections of 1994, the South African constitution officially guarantees and promotes a wide range of political and civil rights and institutionalizes the separation of powers with an independent judiciary. This has made South Africa a political symbol of change, hope and democracy in Africa and around the world. However, since the introduction of free and fair electoral processes and with ANC dominating the presidency and the parliamentary seats, the political scene has been scattered by democratic challenges. South Africa remains a flawed democracy, combining free elections and respect for basic civil liberties with problems of governance, an underdeveloped political culture, and low levels of public participation. Today, South Africa stands at a crossroads. While the constitutional democracy has survived, South African democracy seems to have weakened by state capture, internal ANC implosion, corruption, societal polarization, social exclusion, xenophobia, and threats of state economic bankruptcy. South Africa faces growing discontent symbolized in intensified societal and political debates, protests and demonstrations providing for the question if this is a sign of dissatisfied citizens demanding deeper democracy or activities questioning the established constitutional democracy from an anti-democratic, populist, and radical point of view. South Africas Democracy at the Crossroads explores the question; what are the challenges to future democratization in South Africa?

This handy guide and supplemental text examines trends in information and communication technology (ICT) that impact the day-to-day operations of federal, state, and local government. It seeks to improve service delivery, human resource administration, political participation, education, and citizen input (e-democracy), while at the same time recognizes that with ICT's great promise comes great peril in the form of erosion of personal privacy (e-surveillance). Through the use of numerous examples and exercises, Robert Cropf helps students and practitioners alike explore the ways technological change shapes public policy, develop useful tools and skills for working in or with e-government, and understand the role that social media plays in helping to spark political, economic, and social change.

Aside for the secretaries of state, those lofty roles at the Home Office, MOD, Exchequer, and Foreign office, the ministers of the UK are a cast of roles that expand, and contract based on the whims and political needs of the Prime Minister. Within their portfolios those MPs and Lords are immensely powerful - able to reshape whole sectors of British society, grant or refuse government contracts and planning permission, and intervene in matters throughout the country. And yet, few members of the British Public could name every single minister and fewer still could say the extent of each minister's responsibilities. We like to imagine that they are competent, prepared, and entirely in control, and we hold them to standards as though they are. But they are often none of those things. These men and women serve at the pleasure of the Prime Minister. Any misstep or scandal can invite media attention, public outcry, and their swift departure. At the same time, their resignations can shatter political alliances and bring down Prime Ministers and even governments. Their positions are, therefore, both immensely powerful and precarious. In Fifteen Minutes of Power, Peter Riddell draws on interviews with former ministers, conducted on behalf of the Institute of Government, to reveal the fraught existence of these powerful men and women.

In spite of all that has been written on the U.S. presidency, no book before this has come forth in the 20th century on the president as party leader. A respected senior scholar, James W. Davis has studied the presidency for more than 40 years and has been on the campaign trail with candidates and incumbents and at national party meetings. He has written a lively text that is tailor-made for courses on the presidency, political parties, and elections. This is good reading for everyone who is interested in American government and politics and who wants to understand what makes a president a strong leader. This history and political analysis shows how presidents and political parties need each other and demonstrates why presidents must understand and be immersed in the political process to be effective. The text examines the emergence of the party leader through nominating and general election campaigns, presidential and congressional party interaction, eras of divided government, as well as the relationship between the president and the party's national committee. It also presents the role of the presidential party and of the president in his public roles and then discusses reforms that may strengthen the president as an executive and as a party leader.

Why do governments backtrack on major policy reforms? Reversals of pension privatization provide insight into why governments abandon potentially path-departing policy changes. Academics and policymakers will find this work relevant in understanding market-oriented reform, authoritarian and post-communist politics, and the politics of aging populations. The clear presentation and multi-method approach make the findings broadly accessible in understanding social security reform, an issue of increasing importance around the world. Survival analysis using global data is complemented by detailed case studies of reversal in Russia, Hungary, and Poland including original survey data. The findings support an innovative argument countering the conventional wisdom that more extensive reforms are more likely to survive. Indeed, governments pursuing moderate reform - neither the least nor most extensive reformers - were the most likely to retract. This lends insight into the stickiness of many social and economic reforms, calling for more attention to which reforms are reversible and which, as a result, may ultimately be detrimental.

An exploration of political traditions and their usage in explanations of British politics. This book includes an evaluation of both classical and critical approaches to the British Political Tradition. It also analyses more recent uses of political tradition by Bevir, Rhodes and Marquand.

The presence of women in Congress is at an all-time high - approximately one of every five members is female - and record numbers of women are running for public office for the 2018 midterms. At the same time, Congress is more polarized than ever, and little research exists on how women in Congress view their experiences and contributions to American politics today. Drawing on personal interviews with over three-quarters of the women serving in the 114th Congress (2015-17), the authors analyze how these women navigate today's stark partisan divisions, and whether they feel effective in their jobs. Through first-person perspectives,A Seat at the Tabl looks at what motivates these women's legislative priorities and behavior, details the ways in which women experience service within a male-dominated institution, and highlights why it matters that women sit in the nation's federal legislative chambers. It describes the strategies women employ to overcome any challenges they confront as well as the opportunit es available to them. The book examines how gender interacts with political party, race and ethnicity, seniority, chamber, and district characteristics to shape women's representational influence and behavior, finding that party and race/ethnicity are the two most complicating factors to a singular narrative of women's congressional representation. While congresswomens perspectives, experiences, and influence are neither uniform nor interchangeable, they strongly believe their presence matters in myriad ways, affecting congressional culture, priorities, processes, debates, and outcomes.

This book analyses institutional reforms implemented by Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, under his second administration from 2012 to 2020. Also examined is the evolution in the role of such actors in Japanese politics as bureaucrats, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) factions, and backbenchers of the ruling party. Chapters offer multi-dimensional explanations for the preconditions of successful gradual institutional change in political systems, characterized by relatively strong veto players, rigid governmental structures, and numerous unofficial decision-making rules. It is argued that enhancement of the prime minister's position was implemented through the creative use of pre-existing policy venues, coupled with minor institutional changes in decision-making bodies. Using three illustrated case studies, it is demonstrated how the prime minister managed to centralize the decision-making process: a result of strategic appointment of ministers, empowerment of the Cabinet Secretariat and also taking advantage of wider advisory organs, largely circumventing deliberations on key policies in the ruling party. Seemingly minor changes thus manifested in a major redefinition of decision-making patterns: a result of the long-term perspective of the Abe administration. Gradual Institutional Change in Japan: Kantei Leadership under the Abe Administration will be useful for students seeking to understand the process of successful gradual institutional change and for scholars of Japanese studies and political science.

This book examines the U.S. war on drugs at home and abroad. It provides a brief history of the war on drugs. In addition, it analyzes drug trafficking and organized crime in Colombia and Mexico, and the role of the United States government in counternarcotics policies. This work also examines the opioid epidemic, addiction, and alternative policies.

This unique collection broadens the focus of public administration to include practical and theoretical insights from the worlds of literature and the arts. By making connections between what are normally seen as disparate arenas, the contributors seek to enrich the theory and practice of public administration. The volume connects administrative and management concepts to both Western and Eastern aesthetic theories; provides insights into administration by surveying literature and film for negative and positive constructs of bureaucracy; examines historical and fictional portrayals of leadership; and points to the influence of literature and film on public policy innovation. This work will be of interest to both scholars and practitioners in public administration.

This book examines the development of Welsh devolution in the context of great economic and political uncertainty. Drawing on research carried out over more than a decade, it explores whether Welsh devolution has developed the capacity to resist internal and external pressures and to continue to pursue a distinctive political and policy agenda.

Using a format closely resembling a legislative history, Ronald Garay traces the progress of congressional television from its inception in 1922, when the first resolution seeking approval to broadcast House floor proceedings was introduced, to 1979, when legislation allowing that coverage was finally passed. Garay presents the major arguments that have been voiced, both inside and outside Congress, in support of or in opposition to televising congressional proceedings. He places the controversial congressional hearings of the 1950s, the Senate Watergate hearings, House Judiciary Committee debates on presidential impeachment, and other major events in the context of the overall legislative history of congressional television. Garay probes the motivations that prompted Congress, congressmen, and senators to pursue such legislation and also provides insights into the impact television has had on member conduct, legislative proceedings in the House and Senate, and on the congressional television audience.

This book is the first study to offer a comprehensive theoretical and empirically tested answer to the question of ethnic interest group influence. It presents the argument that such groups exert influence through three different types of power - material, identity, and alignment power. Each type of power is operationalized by a variety of indicators, allowing for clear-cut answers as to what makes an ethnic interest group successful - or not. The group in focus in this case study is the Cuban-American National Foundation (CANF), widely assumed to be one of the most influential ethnic interest groups in the United States in the 1980s and 1990s. The analysis comprises a structured-focused comparison of how CANF influenced the outcome of two different legislatives debates that directly affected US policy towards Cuba, and why it failed to do so in a third instance. Ethnic Groups in US Foreign Policy-Making not only provides an innovative approach to the study of these interest groups, but also benefits from strong political relevance, as ethnic interest groups have provoked considerable controversy in the public and among policy makers in recent years.

Using a typology of worldviews based on perception of threat and expansionist or isolationist objectives, Hayden J. Smith examines influences on the foreign policy decision-making of individual US Presidents-including Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.

This major text for students of public sector management combines well-developed management theory with research from a range of countries including Germany, Holland, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden and the UK. The comparative focus highlights common problems and common factors in successful management across these countries.

The author integrates three traditionally separate concepts in public sector management, arguing for the development of a different kind of management than that appropriate for private enterprise: The notion of differential information between providers and clients in service deliveryThe notion of a core public serviceThe notion of professionalism in service deliveryThroughout, the text focuses on how theory can be applied to management issues and practice, drawing on the direct reports and experiences of managers wherever possible and employing case studies with self-assessment questions to further understanding.

Public services managers who are concerned to improve their management practice or students who are seeking to understand how the particular characteristics of core public services management shape management practice, will particularly welcome this text.

'Bargaining and puzzling; power and thought; dealing and agonising; compromise and commitment. These are two sides of political practitioners whether politician, public servant or campaigner. Understand the interplay and we can, just sometimes, make sense of the real world we seek to interpret.'Patrick Weller's observation comes from half a century of contemplating politics in action. The question of how government works lies at the heart of political science, and it has also been the career focus of this pioneer in the field.The Craft of Governing offers a tribute to the contribution of Patrick Weller to Australian political science, with chapters from leading political commentators including Michelle Grattan, Peter Shergold, Bob Jackson and James Walter. Contributors consider the role of the prime minister, approaches to studying executive government, the continuing significance of senior public servants and the nature of leadership in public bureaucracies. They also reflect on how insights from the study of domestic public policy can be applied to international organisations, challenges faced by Westminster democracies and approaches to political biography.The Craft of Governing is an invaluable resource for readers interested in approaches to studying politics and the development of political science as a discipline.

Although much material concerning the Nixon presidency remains unavailable to scholars, Michael A. Genovese has successfully pieced together the many puzzles that make up Richard Nixon and his presidency. A study of the Nixon presidency, it is also a study of the nature of the presidency broadly defined that is informed by the concerns of both traditional political biography and of contemporary presidential scholarship. As such, the volume raises many vital issues and questions relating to the office of president. Focusing on Nixon as a political leader and on his style of decision-making and management, The Nixon Presidency is the first book to bring together all the key elements of Nixon's presidency into an integrated and interrelated whole, tracing Nixon's rise and fall and the how and why of Watergate. The first four chapters present a biographical sketch of Nixon's early years and rise in politics; assess Nixon's personality and how he approached and organized his administration; and document his domestic, economic, and foreign policies. Chapter five examines the events that led to Watergate and the collapse of the Nixon presidency. Balanced yet critical, the study concludes with an analysis of the impact and legacy of Richard Nixon on the presidency and the U.S. and an assessment of Nixon within the broader comparative perspective of other United States presidents. A most readable book for the informed generalist and a valuable addition to college-level courses in the Presidency, U.S. Government, and Modern U.S. History.