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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Local government > General

Legitimacy and Urban Governance - A Cross-National Comparative Study (Paperback): Hubert Heinelt, David Sweeting, Panagiotis... Legitimacy and Urban Governance - A Cross-National Comparative Study (Paperback)
Hubert Heinelt, David Sweeting, Panagiotis Getimis
R1,081 R986 Discovery Miles 9 860 Save R95 (9%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

A fresh examination of the relationship between two key issues in the on-going debate on urban governance - leadership and community involvement. It explores the nature of the interaction between community involvement and political leadership in modern local governance by drawing on empirical data gathered from case-studies concerning cities in England, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, and Sweden. It presents both a country specific and cross-cutting analysis of the contributions that communities and leaders can make to more effective local governance. These country specific chapters are complemented by thematic, comparative chapters addressing alternative forms of community involvement, types and styles of leadership, multi-level governance, institutional restrictions and opportunities for leadership and involvement, institutional conditions underpinning leadership and involvement, and political culture in cities. This up-to-date survey of trends and developments in local governance moves the debate forward by analysing modern governance with reference to theories related to institutional theory, legitimation, and the way urban leadership and community involvement compliment one another. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of politics and urban governance, and to all those concerned with questions of local governance and democracy.

The City in American Political Development (Paperback): Richardson Dilworth The City in American Political Development (Paperback)
Richardson Dilworth
R1,421 Discovery Miles 14 210 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

There are nearly 20,000 general-purpose municipal governments cities in the United States, employing more people than the federal government. About twenty of those cities received charters of incorporation well before ratification of the U.S. Constitution, and several others were established urban centers more than a century before the American Revolution. Yet despite their estimable size and prevalence in the United States, city government and politics has been a woefully neglected topic within the recent study of American political development.

The volume brings together some of the best of both the most established and the newest urban scholars in political science, sociology, and history, each of whom makes a new argument for rethinking the relationship between cities and the larger project of state-building. Each chapter shows explicitly how the American city demonstrates durable shifts in governing authority throughout the nation s history. By filling an important gap in scholarship the book will thus become an indispensable part of the American political development canon, a crucial component of graduate and undergraduate courses in APD, urban politics, urban sociology, and urban history, and a key guide for future scholarship.

Cultivating New Post-secular Political Space (Hardcover): Roger Haydon Mitchell Cultivating New Post-secular Political Space (Hardcover)
Roger Haydon Mitchell
R3,908 Discovery Miles 39 080 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This comprehensive volume provides crucial insights from contemporary academics and practitioners into how positive interventions might be made into post-secular political spaces that have emerged in the wake of the economic, political, and social upheavals of the 2008 global financial crisis. The failure of liberal democracy to deal effectively with such challenges has led to scapegoating of the poor, immigrants, and Muslims, and contributed to the populist electoral success of, among others, the Leave campaign during the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, and Donald Trump's Presidential campaign. These shocks have highlighted contemporary political spaces defined by what has been termed 'all the posts': postmodern, post-Christendom, post-liberal, post-political, and post-secular. This collection examines emerging attempts to understand and advance the cause of wellbeing within this context. The authors address a variety of key issues including: (re)configuring mythologies for the common good; deploying love and friendship politically; motivating new social movements; valuing the other; recovering displaced and devalued political narratives; finding alternatives to the previously dominant neo-liberalism; listening deeply for social transformation; and overcoming adversarial party politics. This book was originally published online as a special issue of the journal Global Discourse.

Branding New York - How a City in Crisis Was Sold to the World (Hardcover): Miriam Greenberg Branding New York - How a City in Crisis Was Sold to the World (Hardcover)
Miriam Greenberg
R4,813 Discovery Miles 48 130 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

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.

Public Service Improvement - Policies, progress and prospects (Paperback): martin;steve Public Service Improvement - Policies, progress and prospects (Paperback)
martin;steve
R1,349 Discovery Miles 13 490 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This is an excellent new contribution to current academic and policy debates, and will be of great interest internationally to all students, researchers, public sector managers and policy makers.

The improvement of public services has become a key priority for all the main political parties in the UK. Recent years have witnessed large, real terms increases in spending on public services and a plethora of new initiatives designed to drive up standards in the Heath Service, schools, the police and local government.

As part of this broader picture the Government has launched major reforms that it hopes will transform local authority performance. Councils have had to develop new ways of delivering services. They have been under pressure to achieve 'stretch targets' and to work in partnership with other local agencies to provide more 'joined up' services. More recently ministers have also stepped up the pressure on them to achieve major efficiency savings through better procurement and working practices.

To date relatively little has been written about these developments. This book fills this gap by bringing togther authoritative analysis of current reforms ythrough speically commisioned chapters by leading researchers, policy makers and practitioners who have been closely involved in the development and implementation of these policies.

This book was previously published as a special issue of Local Government Studies.

Recapturing Democracy - Neoliberalization and the Struggle for Alternative Urban Futures (Hardcover): Mark Purcell Recapturing Democracy - Neoliberalization and the Struggle for Alternative Urban Futures (Hardcover)
Mark Purcell
R4,356 Discovery Miles 43 560 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Recapturing Democracy is a short yet synoptic introduction to urban democracy in our era of political neoliberalism and economic globalization. Combining an original argument with a number of case studies, Mark Purcell explores the condition of democracy in contemporary Western cities. Whereas many scholars focus on what Purcell calls "procedural democracy" - i.e., electoral politics and access to it - he instead assesses "substantive democracy." By this he means the people's ability to have some say over issues of social justice, material well being, and economic equality. Neoliberalism, which advocates a diminished role for the state and increasing power for mobile capital, has diminished substantive democracy in recent times, he argues. He looks at case studies where this has occurred and at others that show how neoliberalism can be resisted in the name of substantive democracy. Ultimately, he utilizes Henri Lefebvre's notion of "the right to the city," which encompasses substantive as well as procedural democracy for ordinary urban citizens.

Pelosi (Hardcover): Ball, Molly Pelosi (Hardcover)
Ball, Molly
R479 Discovery Miles 4 790 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

An intimate, fresh perspective on the most powerful woman in American political history, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, by award-winning political journalist Molly Ball She's the iconic leader who puts Donald Trump in his place, the woman with the toughness to take on a lawless president and defend American democracy. Ever since the Democrats took back the House in the 2018 midterm elections, Nancy Pelosi has led the opposition with strategic mastery and inimitable elan. It's a remarkable comeback for the veteran politician who for years was demonized by the right and taken for granted by many in her own party--even though, as speaker under President Barack Obama, she deserves much of the credit for epochal liberal accomplishments from universal access to health care to saving the US economy from collapse, from reforming Wall Street to allowing gay people to serve openly in the military. How did an Italian grandmother in four-inch heels become the greatest legislator since LBJ? Ball's nuanced, page-turning portrait takes readers inside the life and times of this historic and underappreciated figure. Based on exclusive interviews with the Speaker and deep background reporting, Ball shows Pelosi through a thoroughly modern lens to explain how this extraordinary woman has met her moment.

Recapturing Democracy - Neoliberalization and the Struggle for Alternative Urban Futures (Paperback): Mark Purcell Recapturing Democracy - Neoliberalization and the Struggle for Alternative Urban Futures (Paperback)
Mark Purcell
R1,347 Discovery Miles 13 470 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Recapturing Democracy is a short yet synoptic introduction to urban democracy in our era of political neoliberalism and economic globalization. Combining an original argument with a number of case studies, Mark Purcell explores the condition of democracy in contemporary Western cities. Whereas many scholars focus on what Purcell calls "procedural democracy" - i.e., electoral politics and access to it - he instead assesses "substantive democracy." By this he means the people's ability to have some say over issues of social justice, material well being, and economic equality. Neoliberalism, which advocates a diminished role for the state and increasing power for mobile capital, has diminished substantive democracy in recent times, he argues. He looks at case studies where this has occurred and at others that show how neoliberalism can be resisted in the name of substantive democracy. Ultimately, he utilizes Henri Lefebvre's notion of "the right to the city,"which encompasses substantive as well as procedural democracy for ordinary urban citizens.

"If you are tired of being asphyxiated by sanctimonious invocations of 'empowerment' and 'stakeholding, ' then you will enjoy this provocative new study by Mark Purcell. With admirable clarity, he exposes the screaming contradictions between neoliberalism's rhetoric and reality, as well as pointing out the brave (if meager) seeds of authentic democracy in our public life." - Mike Davis, University of California-Irvine

"Mark Purcell's illuminating book reveals how neoliberalism is transforming and corrupting urban spaces today. And for this illness he prescribes democracy as cure, both analyzing what democracy can mean today anddemonstrating how people are already constructing democratic attitudes and democratizing movements in our cities to combat neoliberalism." - Michael Hardt, Duke University

A Century of Kurdish Politics - Citizenship, Statehood and Diplomacy (Hardcover): G'Unes Murat Tezc'ur A Century of Kurdish Politics - Citizenship, Statehood and Diplomacy (Hardcover)
G'Unes Murat Tezc'ur
R3,902 Discovery Miles 39 020 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

The Kurdish question remains one of the most important and complicated issues in ethnic politics in contemporary times, with the Kurds being one of the largest ethnic groups in the world without a state of their own. This comprehensive volume brings together a group of distinguished scholars to address the Kurdish question in its centennial year with a fresh analytical lens, to demonstrate that the study of Kurdish politics has developed beyond a narrow focus on the state-minority antagonism. It addresses a series of interrelated questions focusing on Kurdish politics as well as broader themes related to nationalism, ethnic mobilization, democratic struggles, and international security. The authors examine the agency of Kurdish political actors and their relations with foreign actors; the relations between Kurdish political leaders and organizations and regional and great powers; the dynamics and competing forms of Kurdish political rule; and the involvement of Kurdish parties in broader democratic struggles. Using original empirical work, they place the scholarship on Kurdish politics in dialogue with the broader scholarship on ethnic nationalism, self-determination movements, diaspora studies, and rebel diplomacy. This book was originally published as a special issue of the journal Ethnopolitics.

Global Debt Dynamics - Crises, Lessons, Governance (Hardcover): Andreas Antoniades, Ugo Panizza Global Debt Dynamics - Crises, Lessons, Governance (Hardcover)
Andreas Antoniades, Ugo Panizza
R4,349 Discovery Miles 43 490 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This comprehensive volume explores debt dynamics and the intensification of debt crises across the globe, bringing together several recent but underexplored debt crises from different regional and socioeconomic contexts. Using detailed case studies, the authors recast the perils of debt-based growth in the context of regional/global imbalances; not to advocate 'one-size-fits-all' reforms, but to point to the need for accommodating diversity. They examine how current economic developments put developing and developed countries under new strain. They also interrogate the opportunities and challenges generated for developing countries by the new development finance landscape and newly (re)emerged geopolitical tensions. The book also explores the inability of existing dominant structures and thinking to effectively manage the multiple facets of the ongoing global debt crisis, pointing to responses that exacerbate rather than address unsustainable debt dynamics. The authors illustrate the adverse effects of ad hoc crisis management mechanisms which are not fit for purpose, and indicate the negative consequences that existing policies may have for democracy. They then put forward a framework for alternative thinking as well as concrete ideas on what needs to be done, in response. This book will be of great interest to students, scholars and professionals in the field of global debt studies. It was originally published as a special issue of the online journal Third World Thematics.

City Politics and Planning (Paperback): Irving Horowitz City Politics and Planning (Paperback)
Irving Horowitz
R1,410 Discovery Miles 14 100 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This volume discusses some of the factors determining the political impact of the city planner on community decision-making. Rabinovitz bases her book on case studies of planning decisions in six New Jersey communities that were chosen for reputations of both effective and ineffective planning. She also uses a reanalysis of an attitude survey of U.S. planning directors, as well as a synthesis of previous studies. The materials are presented comparatively, thus enabling the reader to identify major themes in the broad and, until now, largely uncharted area of the interrelationship of politics and planning.

The author first discusses the variables that influence the effectiveness of planning. She then develops a typology of community political systems in the six cities, based on such factors as power distribution, values, style, participation, conflict and cohesion, and potential for program output. The typology of urban political systems is matched by a typology of roles for the planner; this leads to a careful examination of the usefulness of different roles in different urban political situations. Other variables on which the success of particular roles depends--such as the ability to command resources for desired actions, the norms of the planning community, and the needs of the planner--are included. Finally, the author raises three important questions central to the planner's effectiveness: Can success spoil the planner? What does the planner contribute to decision-making? To what extent does political utility determine the planner's benefits or reverses?

"City Politics and Planning" not only explores some crucial aspects of the city power structure but also shows the importance of who governs and, in addition, assesses the impact of community values on the types of policies that the community is likely to adopt. As such, this volume is invaluable to the students of city planning, local government, political science, and urban sociology; as well as, of course, to the professional planner, the urban administrator, and everyone concerned with the problems of our cities.

Local Government in Central and Eastern Europe - The Rebirth of Local Democracy (Hardcover): Andrew Coulson, Adrian Campbell Local Government in Central and Eastern Europe - The Rebirth of Local Democracy (Hardcover)
Andrew Coulson, Adrian Campbell
R4,349 Discovery Miles 43 490 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Advocates of democratization in Central and Eastern Europe before 1989 placed great emphasis on community self-government as the basis of civil society and democracy. After the 'Velvet Revolutions' of 1989 and the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991, the new states created an elected local government, whereby cities, towns and villages elected their own representatives and started running local services. This unleashed the development potential of urban communities across the region, but also led to the emergence of a different logic based on resource efficiency and service effectiveness. Local Government in Central and Eastern Europe examines these changes through the use of case studies which compare and contrast neighbouring countries, such as the Baltic States, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Ukraine, placing what is happening in an international perspective. There are various common themes such as: how to deal with the small scale of many municipalities, how to finance local services, centre-local relations, and the roles of cities and districts. This book was previously published as a special issue of Local Government Studies and will be of interest to students of Eastern European politics, governance, and policy analysis.

The Agency of the Governed in the Global South - Normative and Institutional Change (Hardcover): Anke Draude The Agency of the Governed in the Global South - Normative and Institutional Change (Hardcover)
Anke Draude
R3,909 Discovery Miles 39 090 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Research on global norm diffusion and institutional transfer has often neglected the agency of the governed. This collection argues that limited statehood - the lack of state capacities in most parts of the global South - provides opportunities for the governed to raise their voices and be listened to. Thus, people on the receiving end of development cooperation, state building, or security interventions can significantly shape global dynamics of normative and institutional change. Drawing on the emerging body of literature on the agency of the governed, this book assesses the current dynamics of transfer and diffusion studies at the interstice of political science and social anthropology. By focusing on the agency of the governed, the authors integrate a broad spectrum of issues and debates, from the proliferation of global norms to state and security building to international policy cooperation. This book will be of interest to students and researchers of global politics and international relations, particularly those focusing on the global South. It was originally published as a special issue of the online journal Third World Thematics.

Tourism and Cuba - Complexities of Tourism Planning and Development (Hardcover): Lauren Duffy, Carol Kline Tourism and Cuba - Complexities of Tourism Planning and Development (Hardcover)
Lauren Duffy, Carol Kline
R3,909 Discovery Miles 39 090 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Cuba has experienced many social, economic, and political changes since Raul Castro retained presidency of the island nation in 2008. This comprehensive volume examines how Cuba has restructured some of its core economic policies in order to tackle stagnation; these include allowing for more legalized private enterprises, reducing the number of State-employed workers, and fostering additional outside investments. The authors explore the surge of entrepreneurial activity in tourism among Cuban residents due to these reforms, whether that be offering new tourism products or expanding traditional ones. Though the current diplomatic climate suggests continued uncertainty, the ripple effect of a potentially thawing relationship between Cuba and the USA resulted in an unexpected surge of international tourists wishing to experience Cuba before it opened to the American travel market. This book highlights the factors that are influencing, and in some cases complicating, tourism planning and development in Cuba. The authors explore a wide range of topics including tourism and land-use policy, competitiveness, responsible practices, gender and ethical advertising, the role of tour guides, emergence of casa particulares, experiential learning and solidarity, and authenticity through local art. This book will interest students, researchers, politicians and investors with a focus on Cuba. It was originally published as a special issue of the journal Tourism Planning & Development.

Italy Transformed - Politics, Society and Institutions at the End of the Great Recession (Hardcover): Gianfranco Pasquino,... Italy Transformed - Politics, Society and Institutions at the End of the Great Recession (Hardcover)
Gianfranco Pasquino, Martin Bull
R3,915 Discovery Miles 39 150 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

The decade commencing with the great crash of 2008 was a watershed period for Italian politics, involving fundamental and dramatic changes, many of which had not been anticipated and which are charted in this book. This comprehensive volume covers the impact of the Eurozone crisis on the Italian economy and its relationship with the European Union, the dramatic changes in the political parties (and particularly the rise of a new political force, the Five Star Movement, which became the largest political party in 2013), the changing role of the Trade Unions in the lives of Italian citizens, the Italian migration crisis, electoral reforms and their impact on the Italian party system (where trends towards bipolarisation appear to be exhausted), the rise of new forms of social protest, changes to political culture and social capital and, finally, amidst the crisis, reforms to the welfare state. Overall, the authors reveal a country, which many had assumed was in quiet transition towards a more stable democracy, that suffers an immense shock from the Eurozone crisis and bringing to the fore deep-rooted structural problems which have changed the dynamics of its politics, as confirmed in the outcome to the 2018 National Elections. This book was originally published as a special issue of South European Society and Politics.

State Formation in Japan - Emergence of a 4th-Century Ruling Elite (Hardcover, annotated edition): Gina Barnes State Formation in Japan - Emergence of a 4th-Century Ruling Elite (Hardcover, annotated edition)
Gina Barnes
R4,219 Discovery Miles 42 190 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This volume brings together for the first time a significant body of Professor Barnes' scholarly writing on Japanese early state formation, brought together so that successive topics form a coherent overview of the problems and solutions of ancient Japan. The writings are, in some cases, the only studies of these topics available in English and they differ from the majority of other articles on the subject in being anthropological rather than cultural or historical in nature.

Mafia-type Organisations and Extortion in Italy - The Camorra in Campania (Paperback): Giacomo Di Gennaro, Antonio La Spina Mafia-type Organisations and Extortion in Italy - The Camorra in Campania (Paperback)
Giacomo Di Gennaro, Antonio La Spina
R1,342 Discovery Miles 13 420 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Mafia-type organizations generate several distorting effects on the economy. In Italy their presence is endemic, and not only in Southern regions such as Sicily, Campania or Calabria. Such organizations endure the fierce and continuous pressure exerted by Italian anti-mafia policy, maybe the most articulate and effective such policy in the world. Nevertheless, they have survived by submerging, transforming, and relocating their operations. The analysis of the different Mafias of today benefits from a huge amount of empirical data produced by investigators. This allows us to outline more reliable indexes of the penetration of Mafiosi in given territories, as well as to estimate the size of their activities in a transparent and empirically testable way. The contributions gathered in this book stem from the application of an innovative methodology originally introduced by the Fondazione Rocco Chinnici, and they enlarge our understanding of such a complex and dynamic phenomenon. After the presentation of the approach, the chapters are devoted to the Camorra's present situation, to an estimate of the size of extortion, to a comparison between Cosa Nostra and Camorra, to the analysis of wiretapped conversations and, finally, to the delocalization of Mafias and the perspectives of a European anti-mafia policy. This book was originally published as a special issue of Global Crime.

The Politics of Fracking - Regulatory Policy and Local Community Responses to Environmental Concerns (Hardcover): Sarmistha R.... The Politics of Fracking - Regulatory Policy and Local Community Responses to Environmental Concerns (Hardcover)
Sarmistha R. Majumdar
R3,902 Discovery Miles 39 020 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Over the last decade, the oil and gas industry has garnered a lot of support from the United States federal and state governments in the name of energy independence and economic prosperity. More specifically, hydraulic fracturing or fracking is said to not only make the production of affordable energy possible but also reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by substituting coal with natural gas in the utility sector. Behind the facade of many socio-economic and political benefits, the process of fracking causes serious environmental concerns. Dismissing the negative externalities of fracking simply raises the question, to what extent have communities close to fracking sites been adversely impacted by it? In this book, Sarmistha R. Majumdar studies four communities close to fracking well sites in Texas to help illustrate to what extent fracking regulations have been developed in Texas and how effective these regulations have been in safeguarding the interests of individuals in local communities amidst the lure of economic gains from the extraction of oil and natural gas from shale formations. Majumdar has developed a model to show stage by stage community actions to regain their quality of life and the consequences of their actions, if any, on state and local regulations and ordinances, and the oil and gas industry. This book will be an important resource for scholars of environmental and natural resource politics and policy in the United States.

The New Politics of Regionalism - Perspectives from Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific (Paperback): Ulf Engel, Heidrun... The New Politics of Regionalism - Perspectives from Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific (Paperback)
Ulf Engel, Heidrun Zinecker, Frank Mattheis, Antje Dietze, Thomas Ploetze
R1,358 Discovery Miles 13 580 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This edited volume approaches regionalism as one potential pattern in a changing global order. Since the end of the Cold War, different forms of territorialization have emerged and we are confronted with an increasing number and variety of actors that are establishing regional projects. This volume offers an innovative contribution to the study of this new complexity by exploring constellations of regional actors, spatial scales and imaginations beyond state-centred perspectives as well as on multiple, often overlapping levels. The chapters analyse the emergence, trajectories and outcomes of regionalisms from the perspective of the Global South, specifically concentrating on regional projects in Latin America and Africa, but also in the Asia-Pacific. They attempt to identify the specific conditions and junctures of different forms of region-making in their external (global) and internal (local/national) dimensions. The volume also places special emphasis on interactions, spatial entanglements and comparisons between regionalisms in different parts of the world. By expanding beyond the perspective of North-South transfers, this book seeks to better understand the dynamics and diversity of interregional interactions. This volume will appeal to scholars of global studies, international political economy, international relations, human geography, and development studies, as well as area studies specialists who focus on Latin America and Africa.

Regionalism Contested - Institution, Society and Governance (Hardcover, New Ed): Henrik Halkier Regionalism Contested - Institution, Society and Governance (Hardcover, New Ed)
Henrik Halkier; Edited by Iwona Sagan
R3,926 Discovery Miles 39 260 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

As we move further into the 21st century, the prominence of regions can no longer be taken for granted. A certain skepticism has developed with regard to the feasibility of marginal regions achieving self-sustained growth and states have maintained their role as regulators of economic and social activities. Thus, the notion of the region and its significance is currently much debated and contested. Illustrated with a wide range of European case studies, this volume brings together the main strands of these contestations, as economic, political and social actors attempt to institutionalise their vision of their region as the dominant form of territorial governance. It questions both the external delimitation and the internal constitution of regions and critically analyses the societal processes circumscribing ways in which regions are created, maintained and undermined. The volume provides a wide range of analytical perspectives to enable an understanding of the current mosaic of regionalism in Europe.

Local Political Participation in Japan - A Case Study of Oita (Hardcover): Dani Daigle Kida Local Political Participation in Japan - A Case Study of Oita (Hardcover)
Dani Daigle Kida
R3,902 Discovery Miles 39 020 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

How Do Japanese Citizens Participate Politically? Most Japanese citizens, perhaps with a bit of a chuckle, would answer that 'average' Japanese do not participate in politics. While political attitudes in other countries have fluctuated corresponding to social, political, and economic climates of the times; in Japan, a consistently negative view of politics has persisted since the late 1960s. Japanese citizens perceive their government much more critically than citizens of neighboring countries. While many Japanese citizens participate in specific political acts such as signing candidate support cards, attending political rallies, or directly contacting politicians, they largely do not view these activities as political participation. Kida examines why this is the case; whether there is a connection between negative views of politics and how Japanese people self-identify their political participation; how Japanese citizens attempt to exact change or influence policy; how the government engages citizens in political participation; and the relationship between citizens' attitudes towards government and levels of political participation. Kida explores political participation on the local level, to better understand the sources of political attitudes. While participation studies have been conducted in Japan, most are centered in large urban areas, focusing on either extreme forms of participation such as protests, or concentrated on single issue participation such as the environmental or women's movements. This book, in contrast, explores what every day 'regular' in the system political participation looks like in a small traditional Japanese city - using Oita, a small city in Kyushu, as a case study. It focuses especially on the role local institutions and politicians play in influencing the kinds of participation available and subsequently, the attitudes created about participation.

Performance Review in Local Government (Hardcover): Rob Ball Performance Review in Local Government (Hardcover)
Rob Ball
R3,182 Discovery Miles 31 820 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

First published in 1998, this volume responds to the increase in performance review driven by government policies and examines the performance environment and processes for local government. Rob Ball explores the political and managerial environment before moving onto service planning, performance indicators and the Citizen's Charter along with case studies. It is hoped to be of particular interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students of public administration or public management.

Governing Sustainable Cities (Paperback): Bob Evans, Marko Joas, Susan Sundback, Kate Theobald Governing Sustainable Cities (Paperback)
Bob Evans, Marko Joas, Susan Sundback, Kate Theobald
R1,345 Discovery Miles 13 450 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Urban governance and sustainability are rapidly becoming key issues around the world. Currently three billion people - half the population of the planet - live in cities, and by 2050 a full two-thirds of the world's population will be housed in ever larger and increasingly densely populated urban areas. The economic, social and environmental challenges posed by urbanization on such a large scale and at such a rapid pace are staggering for local, regional and national governments working towards sustainability. Solutions to the myriad problems plaguing the quest for sustainability at the city-level are equally as diverse and complex, but are rooted in the assumptions of the 'sustainability agenda', developed at the Rio Earth Summit and embodied in Local Agenda/Action 21. These assumptions state that good governance is a necessary precondition for the achievement of sustainable development, particularly at the local level, and that the mobilization of local communities is an essential part of this process. Yet until now, these assumptions, which have guided the policies and programmes of over 6000 local authorities around the world, have never been seriously tested. Drawing on three years of field research in 40 European towns and cities, Governing for Sustainable Cities is the first book to examine empirically the processes of urban governance in sustainable development. Looking at a host of core issues including institutional and social capacity, institutional design, social equity, politics, partnerships and cooperation and creative policy-making, the authors draw compelling conclusions and offer strong guidance. This book is essential reading for policy-makers, politicians, activists and NGOs, planners, researchers and academics, whether in Europe, North America, Australasia or transitional and developing countries, concerned with advancing sustainability in our rapidly urbanizing world.

Case Studies of City-County Consolidation: Reshaping the Local Government Landscape - Reshaping the Local Government Landscape... Case Studies of City-County Consolidation: Reshaping the Local Government Landscape - Reshaping the Local Government Landscape (Hardcover, New)
Suzanne M. Leland, Kurt M. Thurmaier
R3,910 Discovery Miles 39 100 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Facing cutbacks in federal and state assistance and a new wave of taxpayer revolts, local governments have renewed interest in local government consolidation as a way of achieving efficiencies of scale in response to citizen demands for services. Yet the vast majority of consolidation efforts fail, either during the process of drafting a charter or once they reach the ballot - only five have passed since 1990; only thirty-two have been successfully implemented since the first, when the city of New Orleans merged with Orleans Parish in 1805. What accounts for the high failure rate and what factors led to successful consolidations? This volume presents thirteen comparable case studies of consolidation campaigns and distills the findings.

Leadership in a Small Town (Paperback): Aaron Wildavsky Leadership in a Small Town (Paperback)
Aaron Wildavsky
R1,380 Discovery Miles 13 800 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Of all the questions that might be asked about political life, it would be difficult to find one of greater interest than the ancient query: who rules over whom? It appeals powerfully to our curiosity. We want to know who "runs" things--who makes policy decisions in New York, Washington, London, or the town in which we live. Is it a single powerful individual, an economic elite, a series of elites, the citizens, political bosses, or some variant of these possibilities? The major purpose of this volume is to find an answer to this question for a small American city, and to extend the answer through relevant theory to American cities in general. But much more precisely, answers are sought for these interrelated questions: What are the relationships between the rulers and the ruled? How are the rulers related to each other? Are the rulers the same for all policies or do they differ from one area of policy to another? How do leaders arise, and in what way are they different from other people? The issues discussed in this volume are familiar to many towns. They range from controversies about the building of a new water system to housing and zoning codes, from charity appeals to low-income housing, from nominations and elections to industrial development and off-street parking. Wildavsky draws parallels to other community studies and formulates general propositions in support of his thesis that American communities are pluralist. And ultimately, Wildavsky is optimistic that small towns foster citizen participation, giving the population more of a chance to direct its own future. Aaron Wildavsky was, until his death in 1993, professor of political science and public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and, while working on the present study, taught at Oberlin College. Transaction has posthumously published Wildavsky's complete essays and papers in five volumes. Nelson W. Polsby is Heller Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught American politics and government since 1967. He is editor of the" Annual Review of Political Science" and author of "Congress and the Presidency."

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