There are many different ways to do political science research. This book takes a core question that motivates research in political science – what is democracy? – and presents, in a single volume, original research demonstrating a variety of approaches to studying it. The approaches and related methods covered by the chapters in this book include normative political theory, positivist quantitative analysis, behaviouralism, critical theory, post-structuralism, historical institutionalism, process tracing, case studies, and literature reviews. Readers are confronted with the different assumptions that researchers make when entering the research process and can compare and contrast the many different ways that a single question can be studied . This book will be enlightening for students of democracy as well as those interested in research design and methodological approaches.

In Good Government in the Tropics, Judith Tendler questions widely prevailing views about why governments so often perform poorly and about what causes them to improve. Drawing on a set of four cases involving public bureaucracies at work under the direction of an innovative state government in Brazil, the book offers findings of significance to the current debates about organization of the public-sector workplace, public service delivery, decentralization, and the interaction between government and civil society. The case chapters represent four different sectors, each traditionally spoken for by its distinct experts, literatures, and public agnecies -- rural preventive health, small enterprise development, agricultural extension for small farmers, and employment-creating public works construction and drought relief. With findings that cut across these sectoral boundaries, the book raises questions about the policy advice proferred by the international donor community. It shifts the terms of the prevailing debate away from mistrust of government toward an understanding of the circumstances under which public servants become truly committed to their work and public service improves dramatically.

"The traditional focus on trying to eliminate 'rent-seeking' by reducing the state's role has made a contribution but lost much of its charisma. Theoreticians and practitioners alike are looking for new ideas and Tendler offers a quite intriguing set of them. The cases demonstrate surprising counter-intuitive results that will be of interest even to those with little substantive interest in the particular setting described. Theoretical novelty and elegant use of evidence combine to makethis book a clear winner." -- Peter Evans, University of California at Berkeley

One of the greatest challenges in the twenty-first century is to address large, deep, and historic deficits in human development. Democracy at Work explores a crucial question: how does democracy, with all of its messy, contested, and, time-consuming features, advance well-being and improve citizens' lives? Professors Brian Wampler, Natasha Borges Sugiyama, and Michael Touchton argue that differences in the local robustness of three democratic pathways - participatory institutions, rights-based social programs, and inclusive state capacity - best explain the variation in how democratic governments improve well-being. Using novel data from Brazil and innovative analytic techniques, the authors show that participatory institutions permit citizens to express voice and exercise vote, inclusive social programs promote citizenship rights and access to public resources, and more capable local states use public resources according to democratic principles of rights protections and equal access. The analysis uncovers how democracy works to advance capabilities related to poverty, health, women's empowerment, and education.

In 1978, Ed Koch assumed control of a city plagued by filth, crime, bankruptcy, and racial tensions. By the end of his mayoral run in 1989 and despite the Wall Street crash of 1987, his administration had begun rebuilding neighborhoods and infrastructure. Unlike many American cities, Koch's New York was growing, not shrinking. Gentrification brought new businesses to neglected corners and converted low-end rental housing to coops and condos. Nevertheless, not all the changes were positive--AIDS, crime, homelessness, and violent racial conflict increased, marking a time of great, if somewhat uneven, transition.

For better or worse, Koch's efforts convinced many New Yorkers to embrace a new political order subsidizing business, particularly finance, insurance, and real estate, and privatizing public space. Each phase of the city's recovery required a difficult choice between moneyed interests and social services, forcing Koch to be both a moderate and a pragmatist as he tried to mitigate growing economic inequality. Throughout, Koch's rough rhetoric (attacking his opponents as "crazy," "wackos," and "radicals") prompted charges of being racially divisive. The first book to recast Koch's legacy through personal and mayoral papers, authorized interviews, and oral histories, this volume plots a history of New York City through two rarely studied yet crucial decades: the bankruptcy of the 1970s and the recovery and crash of the 1980s.

Governors in the United States are becoming prime policy makers in state and national politics. They preside over vast and increasingly important administrative structures through numerous appointments of key personnel and the management of growing budgets. Governors provide leadership for state legislatures by advocating their policy agendas, and by mobilizing public opinion and political resources. Through these roles, governors have far reaching influence in citizen's daily lives. This work examines these major political leaders by closely examining the careers of five recent governors (1960D2001): - Terry Sanford (1961D1965) - Robert (Bob) W. Scott (1969D1973) - James E. (Jim) Holshouser Jr. (1973D1977) - James G. (Jim) Martin (1985D1993) - James B. (Jim) Hunt Jr. (1977D1985; 1993D2001) ...and compares their performances in office with governors in other states. No other book has looked as closely at the persons who serve as governors during this time period.

Winner of the 2009 Robert Park Book Award for best Community and Urban Sociology book!

Branding New York traces the rise of New York City as a brand and the resultant transformation of urban politics and public life. Greenberg addresses the role of "image" in urban history, showing who produces brands and how, and demonstrates the enormous consequences of branding. She shows that the branding of New York was not simply a marketing tool; rather it was a political strategy meant to legitimatize market-based solutions over social objectives.

From "Reefer Madness" to legal purchase at the corner store.With long-time legal and social barriers to marijuana falling across much of the United States, the time has come for an accessible and informative look at attitudes toward the dried byproduct of Cannabis sativa. Marijuana: A Short History profiles the politics and policies concerning the five-leaf plant in the United States and around the world. Millions of Americans have used marijuana at some point in their lives, yet it remains a substance shrouded by myth, misinformation, and mystery. And nearly a century of prohibition has created an enforcement system that is racist, and the continuing effects of racially-targeted over criminalization limit economic and social opportunities in communities of color. Marijuana: A Short History tells this story, and that of states stepping up to enact change. This book offers an up-to-date, cutting-edge look at how a plant with a tumultuous history has emerged from the shadows of counterculture and illegality. Today, marijuana has become a remarkable social, economic, and even political force with a surprising range of advocates and opponents. Over the past two decades marijuana policy has transformed dramatically in the United States, as dozens of states have openly defied the federal government. Marijuana: A Short History provides a brief yet compelling narrative that discusses the social and cultural history of marijuana but also tells us how a once-vilified plant has been transformed into a serious, even mainstream, public policy issue. Focusing on politics, the media, government, racism, criminal justice, and education, the book describes why public policy has changed, and what that change might mean for marijuana's future place in society.

The A Practical Approach series is the perfect partner for practice work. Each title focuses on one field of the law and provides a comprehensive overview of the subject together with clear, practical advice and tips on issues likely to arise in practice. The books are also an excellent resource for those new to the law, where the expert overview and clear layout promotes clarity and ease of understanding. This second edition of A Practical Approach to Local Government Law provides comprehensive coverage of the rull range of law and legislation relating to local government and local authorities. Since the first edition published in 1997, there have been significant legislative changes in the field of local government, including the enactment of the Local Government Act 2003 and the new Capital Finance Rules brought into force in April 2004. This new edition takes these changes fully into account, and covers the increasingly key areas of; partnerships and joint ventures; procurement; freedom of information; wellbeing; best value; and human rights. Very much a practical guide, A Practical Approach to Local Government Law 2/e makes extensive use of examples, checklists, and key documents, to assist the busy practitioner in quickly locating the material they need, whilst also providing valuable context for the student coming to this complex subject for the first time.

Since the publication of the first edition of A South African Renewable Energy Guide for Local Government, the costs related to non-renewable energy generation have increased exponentially, and coal-based energy systems have continued to generate large quantities of dangerous emissions. Conversely, sustainable energy generation has become more cost-effective, and in many instances renewables are now more economically viable than non-renewables. This narrowing gap in costs, coupled with an increased awareness of the environmental benefits of renewables, has greatly stimulated the sustainable energy market.

Over the last several years, metropolitan municipalities have engaged with innovative, cost-effective sustainable energy projects and solutions. Medium and smaller municipalities are beginning to understand the roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders in the energy sector. They are learning how to work within the confines of the South African national, provincial and local policy, legislative and regulatory frameworks; how to embed renewables within local integrated development plans and strategies; how to utilise appropriate technologies and how to apply financing mechanisms and leverage partnerships for successful project delivery. It is critically important therefore that (particularly) small, medium and rural municipalities continue to explore, and receive capacity-building and support for, renewable and energy-efficient solutions

In line with these developments, this second edition provides useful information and solid examples of how politicians, city managers and government officials, in partnership with communities, can facilitate the adoption of renewable energy systems and technologies to achieve a more sustainable energy future for all.

This book examines the effects of globalization at the local level within our everyday lives. Rather than seeing the city as a conurbation, a location of economic activity, or in terms of governance and administration, Czarniawska explores the city as an 'action net'. She uses studies of city management in Warsaw, Stockholm, and Rome to develop this, looking in particular at the impact of 'global' influences on city management, organization and culture.

Why are some states in India able to facilitate foreign capital inflows better while others are not? This book addresses the socio-political factors such as ideas and interests of political actors, which produce the different levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) in states of India. It studies the causal role of disparate state-society relations in the evolution of institutions facilitating and regulating FDI inflows in the states through a comparative case study on the manufacturing industries of Tamil Nadu and Odisha.

In the wake of the 2000 Election, the relationship between the Supreme Court and the American states has become more important. Once derided by the Supreme Court as a 'truism, ' the Tenth Amendment has in recent years been transformed from a neglected provision into a vital 'first principle.' As such, it has provided the foundation for a series of decisions in which the Supreme Court has elevated the status of the states, often at the expense of federal power and in the face of previously settled assumptions. In this important volume, four prominent scholars--two historians and two law professors--examine carefully one of the central tenets in the Supreme Court's recent Tenth Amendment jurisprudence: the assumption that the results fashioned by a narrow majority are compelled by history and consistent with the intentions of the framers. They shed important new light on a series of decisions that mark a major change in our thinking about the nature of a constitutional system within which both the federal government and the states properly regard themselves as sovereign entities

In this colorful depiction of daily political life in Baroque Rome, Laurie Nussdorfer argues that the lay persons managed to sustain a civic government under the increased papal absolutism of Urban VIII (1623-1644), who oversaw both sacred and secular life. Focusing on the S.P.Q.R. (the Senate and the Roman People), which was ministered from the capitoline Hill, she shows that it provided political representation for lay members of the urban elite, carried out the work of local government, and served as a symbol of the Roman voice in public life. Through a detailed study of how civic authorities derived their sense of legitimacy and how lay subjects maneuvered in informal and disguised ways to block or criticize the papal regime, the author advances a new way of conceiving politics under an absolute ruler. As Nussdorfer analyzes the complex interactions between the lay administration and Urban VIII and his family, the papal administration, and Romans of the upper and lower classes, she also provides fresh insights into the actual practice of early modern government. She takes the plague threat of the early 1630s, the War of Castro (1641-1644), and the interregnum following the pope's death as important test cases of the state's power in times of crisis. Laurie Nussdorfer is Assistant Professor of History and Letters at Wesleyan University. Originally published in 1992. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

This important new study, by a leading scholar in the field, offers a fresh perspective on public management. In contrast to the widespread claim of the 'modernization gurus' that a new era of global convergence is dawning in public management, it uses cultural theory to show why ideas about how to manage government are inherently plural and contradictory and likely to remain so.

This anthology addresses several of the most central ideas in the field of public administration. These ideas are as relevant to public budgeting as they are to performance measurement or human resource management. Collectively and individually the essays explore what Dwight Waldo referred to as the "political theories" of public administration: issues that are ultimately unresolvable yet crucial to understanding the nature of public administrative practice. How can democracy and efficiency be balanced? Can there be a science of administration? How should we think about administrative accountability? What is the nature of the relationship between citizen and state? Is professionalism an adequate mechanism for ensuring accountability? How efficient can or should bureaucracy be? What is proper leadership by administrators hoping to address political democracy and managerial efficiency? This ASPA Classics Volumes serves to connect the practice of public policy and administration with the normative theory base that has accrued and the models for practice that may be deduced from this theory.

This book derives from research and fieldwork in the rural and tribal hinterland of India, particularly in the mineral rich states. It looks at the nuances of land and resource politics and summarizes the long-standing land acquisition and mining debate. It discusses the relevant theoretical arguments from inter-disciplinary perspectives and develops an argument through the case study of Singrauli, a region in Madhya Pradesh in India, that has seen various 'regimes of dispossession' in the last six decades in India. It looks at the legal and policy arguments around right to property, 'fair' compensation, public purpose and the resource curse debate, and at contested 'spaces' (left wing extremism) and resource-capital relationships.

New York Politics examines aspects of state government that are often hidden in the secret sessions of the parties' legislative conferences: the closed-door budget; a complicated array of opaque agencies, authorities, and local governments; and a campaign finance system that lacks transparency. New York is unique among the American states in the existence of regional and demographic divisions, making it difficult to govern. Edward V. Schneier, Antoinette Pole, and Anthony Maniscalco bring clarity and understanding to the politics of the Empire State. This third edition of the leading textbook on New York politics combines historical, legal, statistical, and journalistic sources with the candid perspectives of legislators, lobbyists, and other public officials. Critical updates and new information include an analysis of the rise and fall of Governor Andrew Cuomo, coverage of growing demographic diversity in New York State and its government, and the impact of unified government when the legislature and executive branch are both controlled by the Democratic Party.

'The most penetrating survey of the police since the royal commission on the police...This second edition has become even more pertinent.' - Lord Deedes;Police, Government and Accountability is an examination of the relationship between police and central and local government in the United Kingdom. The book deals with the constitutional position of police and traces developments in the debate on accountability from the Royal Commission report of 1962 to the present day.;The second edition also re-examines the police and government relationship after the passing of the controversial Police and Magistrates' Courts Act 1994 and the local government reforms. Particular attention is given to the model of accountability in Northern Ireland and the role played by the army in aid to the civil power.

Is Europe witnessing the death of the once mighty nation-state? If it is, then two of the most powerful factors in its post-war decline have been European integration and regionalism. Both challenge the nation state's monopoly of authority - one from above, the other from below. Although it is increasingly recognized that the two are connected. This book provides a definitive examination of the new patterns of politics and policy that link the three levels of European Union, nation state, and region. Looking at each member state in turn the authors emphasize the diversity of the European experience. European integration has differing impacts on different regions. In some it is seen as a threat, centralizing power and increasing their peripherality. To others it is an opportunity to by-pass national governments and assert their personality. The authors are sceptical of the `Europe of the Regions' scenario, in which nation states fade away in favour of the other two levels. But they do show how the Maastricht commitment to subsidiarity together with the twin forces of European integration and regional assertion are profoundly changing the politics of Europe as it moves into the twenty-first century.

Bowman/Kearney's STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT, THE ESSENTIALS, SIXTH EDITION takes a positive look at state and local government, in a shorter and more streamlined approach than its full-length counterpart (State and Local Government 9781435462687). It espouses clearly and succinctly that government can be a force for good in society, while addressing critics simultaneously. Through engaging coverage of current events and an accessible writing style, the text fosters interest and involvement in state and local politics, policy, and public service.

Although it is less than three years since the previous edition, some important changes in the law have taken place. These include new provisions relating to reviews of parishes in England in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, with the power to create parishes in Greater London; the extension to some parish councils of the power to promote well-being enacted by the Local Government Act 2000; the removal of local councils from the ambit of the best value legislation (also in the LGPIHA 2007); new codes of conduct for councillors in both England and Wales; new regulations on allowances for community councillors in Wales; new election rules; and, revised accounting guidance and practice; and the coming into force of much of the Commons Act 2006. There have also been many detailed changes in regulations and orders made by statutory instrument. The alphabetical format of the book remains the same, as does its extensive but clear coverage of all aspects of the law and practice of parish, town and community councils in England and Wales. New councillors, in particular, will find this book invaluable and, in fact, many clerks insist that all their councillors have a copy to ensure they have a full understanding of their duties and responsibilities. It is also an essential reference for clerks themselves.