The book addresses in detail local governance in Spain. In recent decades, local governments in Europe have increasingly found themselves under pressure from a multitude of new challenges, such as demographic change, climate change, fiscal austerity policies, digitization, the demand for more citizen participation in local affairs, and the migration crisis in some of them, to name just a few. Consequently, a wave of political and administrative reforms to address these challenges, pressures and problems, has changed local governance in many countries. In part, these changes were the result of reform policies introduced by national and state governments, often triggered by austerity policies, which has become an overwhelming reality for Spanish local governments that have been forced to introduce innovations in local governance. This book aims to give an account of these innovations in local governance in Spain. This book considers the local political-administrative structure in its dimensions, focusing on the analysis of its party system, electoral competition and political behavior in the local arena, as well as on local finances, all of which are determining elements in urban and rural governance processes. On the occasion of the recent crisis unleashed by Covid-19, the book will also deal with local governance in crisis situations. The book will also contextualize local governance processes in Spain in relation to the trends in local governance observed in other European countries.

The Semantic Web, extends the popular, day-to-day Web, enabling computers and people to effectively work together by giving information well-defined meaning. Knitting the Semantic Web explains the interdisciplinary efforts underway to build a more library-like Web through "semantic knitting." The book examines foundation activities and initiatives leading to standardized semantic metadata. These efforts lead to the Semantic Web-a network able to support computational activities and provide people with services efficiently. Leaders in library and information science, computer science, and information intensive domains provide insight and inspiration to give readers a greater understanding of the evolution of the Semantic Web. Librarians and information professionals are uniquely qualified to play a major role in the development and maintenance of the Semantic Web. Knitting the Semantic Web closely examines this crucial relationship in detail. This single source reviews the foundations, standards, and tools underlying the Semantic Web and presents thoughtful perspectives in the context of 2.0 developments. Many chapters include figures to illustrate concepts and ideas, and the entire text is extensively referenced. Topics in Knitting the Semantic Web include: RDF, its expressive power, and its ability to underlie the new Library catalog card for the coming century the value and application for controlled vocabularies SKOS (Simple Knowledge Organization System), the newest Semantic Web language managing scheme versioning in the Semantic Web Physnet portal service for physics Semantic Web technologies in biomedicine developing the United Nations Food and Agriculture ontology Friend Of A Friend (FOAF) vocabulary specification-with a real world case study at a university Web/Library 2.0 and more Knitting the Semantic Web is a stimulating resource for professionals, researchers, educators, and students in library and information science, computer science, information architecture, Web design, and Web services.

One important tradition in political science conceives of the Civil War in the United States serving as the functional equivalent of the English and French Revolutions, bringing with it the victory of liberal democratic industrialism over aristocratic agriculturalism. From this perspective, the Civil War is notable for its impact on the American state. Surprisingly however, little attention has been paid to the distinguishing features of this historic rupture in American politics. Through primary source research and the re-analysis of the rich historical literature about the antebellum era and the causes of the Civil War, Lawrence A. Anderson explores the relationship between federalism and the movement for secession in the United States during the pre-civil war era. Focusing primarily on South Carolina, Anderson carefully revisits theory on institutional analysis of political development to expose what caused secession in the United States.

A data-rich historical picture of American elections and the American electorate, from 1789 to the present. A Statistical History of the American Electorate adds a new, never explored dimension to study of the nation's political system. Rusk has examined thousands of pieces of information and masses of historical and contemporary numerical data on elections to draw a new picture of our evolving voting ways and byways. His book adds immeasurably to the abundant literature about actual results and voting returns from specific elections by gathering data over time - 200 years - and casting it into historical patterns. The material in each of his eight chapters is introduced with an essay that explains the data and its importance, and sets it all in context. Chapters include: Election Laws and Suffrage. Lists and dates election laws that define the eligible electorate. Describes qualifications such as property owner-ship, paying taxes, residency, sex, literacy, and many more. Also discusses popular electoral participation such as the initiative and referendum. Voting Participation. Lists three forms of voting participation - turnout, mobilization, and eligibility - as percentage values by the nation, region, and state. This analysis casts light on voter activity as well as the portion of citizens entitled (or barred) from participating at different times in U.S. history. Presidential, House, Senate, and Gubernatorial Voting. These four chapters show partisan vote percentages at the national, regional, and state level for Democratic, Republican, and Other categories and the Democratic percent of the major two-party vote. The author uses conventional designations of political parties as well as newly designed alternative descriptions that give a more accurate reflection of the partisan nature of each state. Measures of Voting Behavior. Using data from the other chapters, Rusk shows over 200 years of party competition, partisan swing, split-ticket voting, partisan strength and many other dimensions of the electoral system. No other volume brings together such a rich variety of information and sets it in an analytical context. A must-purchase for scholars, graduate and undergraduate students, libraries with political science collections, and anyone interested in the American electoral system.

Examining the genral character and key issues of local politics, People, Power and Place discusses the effect of local government policieson the general population and identifies those who gain or lose under them. Based on a comparitive investigation of Britain and the United States, the book explores the changing influences of institutions and individuals in local political systems and activity. This perspective, first published in 1991, illustrates the role of national, international and historical factors in the evolution of local government as well as outlining the practice of local politics in both countries.

California is at a tipping point. Severe budget deficits, unsustainable pension costs, heavy taxes, cumbersome regulation, struggling cities, and distressed public schools are but a few of the challenges that policymakers must address for the state to remain a beacon of business innovation and economic opportunity. City Journal has for years been cataloging the political and economic issues of our nation's largest metropolitan areas, and in this collection compiled and introduced by City Journal editor Brian C. Anderson, the cracks in California's flawed policy plans are displayed in detail, and analyzed by a diverse set of experts in the state's design. The list of contributors includes: Steven Malanga, William Voegeli, Joel Kotkin, Wendell Cox, Arthur B. Laffer, Steven Greenhut, Victor Davis Hanson, Heather Mac Donald, John Buntin, Ben Boychuk, Tom Gray, Andrew Klavan, Troy Senik, Larry Sand, Michael Anton, and Guy Sorman. While there is plenty of literature on California's history, topography, and attractions, The Beholden State: California's Lost Promise and How to Recapture It is the first book examining in rigorous detail how a place seen just a generation ago as the dynamic engine of the American future could, through bad policy ideas, find itself with among the highest unemployment rates and poorest educational outcomes in the country. The book is as thoroughly analytical as it is pragmatically proscriptive, complete with policy solutions mapping the way forward for a struggling state.

This book, first published in 1992, examines the attitudes of local elites - the hinge between Indian state and rural society - towards protest and participation in development, illuminating arguments about the nature of the state as well as the development process. It looks at the role of local elites in India both as the representatives of the state and of the rest of rural society, and explains their importance in the country's development. The book deals with the elites' contribution to the credibility of the state and examines the strategies through which they manipulate the allocation of resources and influence the pace and direction of social change. It contrasts the rural elites in two areas, one more economically advanced than the other. The elites in the first area were shown to be capable of combining institutional participation with radical protest, whilst in the other they tended to rely on state channels to achieve reform. The author concludes that despite the different settings, both groups were informed, active and responsive to political conditions. This contrasts with the conventional view that local elites of the dominant castes oppress the lower ones by obstructing reforms, for reasons of self-interest.

This book commemorates the tenth anniversary of the Worcester Municipal Research Bureau, a private, non-profit organization which conducts independent, non-partisan research on issues facing Worcester's municipal government. In this book are lectures from the 'Future of Cities' series (winter and spring 1995) sponsored by the Worcester Municipal Research Bureau. This series examines the proper functions of local government and explores how these functions can be carried out efficiently and responsibly. The essays focus on the shift of power from the federal and state governments back to the local level. Attention is given to the main ideas behind this emerging trend, including promoting accountability and 're-empowering' the local citizenry. Each speech addresses a different aspect of the prospects and problems of urban life during the next decade. Speakers include Professor Marc Landy (Boston College Political Science Department) and John Fund (editorial writer at the Wall Street Journal). Discussants include (all political scientists): Professor Daniel Mahoney (Assumption College); Professor David Schaefer (Holy Cross College); Professor Dennis Hale (Boston College); and Professor Hadley Arkes (Amherst College). The essays in this book will appeal to students and scholars of political science, federalism, and local government. Anyone interested in the future of our government and its effects on us as citizens, will surely want a copy of this thoughtful and penetrating set of essays.

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

History didn't end. Democracy didn't triumph. America's leading role in the world is no longer assured. Instead, autocrats and populist strongmen are on the rise, and the global order established after 1945 is under attack. This is the phenomenon Katie Stallard tackles inDancing on Bones, as she examines how the leaders of China, Russia, and North Korea manipulate the past to serve the present and secure the future of authoritarian rule. Russia has annexed Crimea, started a war in eastern Ukraine, and repeatedly massed troops on its borders. China has stepped up war games near Taiwan and militarized the South China Sea, while North Korea has resumed missile testing and blood-curdling threats against the United States. These three states consistently top lists of threats to US and European security, and yet the leaders of all three insist that it is their country that is threatened, rewriting history and exploiting the memory of the wars of the last century to justify their actions and shore up popular support. Since coming to power, Xi Jinping has almost doubled the length of China's World War II, Vladimir Putin has elevated the memory of the Great Patriotic War to the status of a national religion, and Kim Jong Un has invested vast sums in rebuilding war museums in his impoverished state, while those who try to challenge the official version of history are silenced and jailed. But this didn't start with Putin, Xi, and Kim, and it won't end with them. Drawing on first-hand, on-the-ground reporting,Dancing on Bonesargues that if we want to understand where these three nuclear powers are heading, we must understand the stories they are telling their citizens about the past.

This edited collection brings together enterprising pieces of new research on the many forms of organization in East and Southeast Asia that are sponsored or mandated by government, but engage widespread participation at the grassroots level. Straddling the state-society divide, these organizations play important roles in society and politics, yet remain only dimly understood. This book shines a spotlight on this phenomenon, which speaks to fundamental questions about how such societies choose to organize themselves, how institutions of local governance change over time, and how individuals respond to and make use of the power of the state. The contributors investigate organizations ranging from volunteer-based organizations that partner with government in providing services for homeless children, to state-managed networks of neighborhood- or village-level associations that perform representative as well as administrative functions and seeks to answer a number of questions: When do the "vertical," top-down imperatives of the state stifle "horizontal" solidarities, and when might the two work in harmony? Are useful social and administrative purposes served by this type of fusion? Does it amplify or merely muffle citizens' voices? What does it tell us about existing accounts of community, social capital, "synergy," "complementarity," "subsidiarity," and related concepts? Representing seven countries: China, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Singapore this volume will be of interest to undergraduates, postgraduates and academics in Asian studies, political science, sociology, anthropology, development, history, nonprofit studies.

This is the prosperity volume in a three-volume set on peace, prosperity and democracy. The author uses specific issues such as goods exchange, immigration policy, volunteerism in technical assistance, international exchange of factories, and monetary exchange rates to construct a polyvalent framework of analysis. In this examination of economic and technology policy from both a domestic and international perspective, Stuart Nagel has created an important and lasting contribution to the field of public policy studies.

This is a revision and update of Zimmerman's classic study of relations between state and local government. The first edition, published in 1983, was based on three decades of research into intergovernmental affairs and examined the legal, financial, and structural foundations of state-local relations. This new edition adds a fourth decade of research and brings the work up to date through the early 1990s, adding a chapter on state mandates and local governments, reviewing and analyzing the changes in fortune of state and local governments, and the impact of those changes on their relations between each other and between themselves and the federal government.

Though local governments have long tried to shape their economies, Congressional passage of the Urban Development Action Grant in 1977 prompted public officials to develop highly focused inducements to entice new businesses to locate to their community. These economic development incentives often include, but are not limited to, land subsidies, low interest financing, flexible zoning laws and infrastructure improvements. The 37 articles in this work, written by some of the leading experts in the field, examine all aspects of economic development, including a general introduction to the field and information on how to set up the staff economic development organizations. An overview of the development process is next, including a review of the incentives available. The application of public-private partnerships is covered in depth, using primarily case studies of successful programs. The future of economic development programs is also examined.

To see like a city, rather than seeing like a state, is the key to understanding modern politics. In this book, Magnusson draws from theorists such as Weber, Wirth, Hayek, Jacobs, Sennett, and Foucault to articulate some of the ideas that we need to make sense of the city as a form of political order. Locally and globally, the city exists by virtue of complicated patterns of government and self-government, prompted by proximate diversity. A multiplicity of authorities in different registers is typical. Sovereignty, although often claimed, is infinitely deferred. What emerges by virtue of self-organization is not susceptible to control by any central authority, and so we are impelled to engage politically in a world that does not match our expectations of sovereignty. How then are we are to engage realistically and creatively? We have to begin from where we are if we are to understand the possibilities. Building on traditions of political and urban theory in order to advance a new interpretation of the role of cities/urbanism in contemporary political life, this work will be of great interest to scholars of political theory and urban theory, international relations theory and international relations.

Focusing on Karnataka in India, this study examines the implications of the model of development sought to be introduced in the entire country through the governance reforms of the post-1991 period a model that bypasses Panchayat Raj institutions (PRIs), resulting in a majority of the population being left outside the purview of development.

These changes in governance resulted in, among other things, the prolific growth of NGOs in the country, particularly in Karnataka. Explaining how community-based organizations (CBOs) set up by these NGOs have made their way into rural Karnataka, this book expresses concern over how they now perform functions that rightly belong to PRIs following the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution which devolves 29 functions to local self-government, passing on the funds they receive from the centre to their district and village branches, though these should actually go to PRIs.

The book argues that elected representatives have been put in place by the people at all levels, and it is they who should take decisions regarding the development of this country. In the post-liberalisation period, governance through institutions that eschew political decentralisation is fraught with hazards. Not only will avenues for the expression of people 's wishes be lacking in such a scenario, but there will also be increasing inequality, resulting in a skewed development. The inclusiveness which the present government seeks will elude them unless they restore and strengthen Panchayat Raj institutions.

During the past two decades, many countries in the world have peacefully undergone a transition to more popular forms of self-governance. The United States represents the world model for evolving forms of democracy. This volume details how government currently works in America. Forty essays examine the condition of all five levels of government in America - city, county, regional, state, and federal. They describe and examine the structures, operations and services provided by each level, as well as how they are financed.

Examining the genral character and key issues of local politics, People, Power and Place discusses the effect of local government policieson the general population and identifies those who gain or lose under them. Based on a comparitive investigation of Britain and the United States, the book explores the changing influences of institutions and individuals in local political systems and activity. This perspective, first published in 1991, illustrates the role of national, international and historical factors in the evolution of local government as well as outlining the practice of local politics in both countries.

The first comprehensive biographical information source to the 191 American governors who served during the period 1788-1959. Historical and political analysis accompanies each entry.

This book provides a balanced assessment of China's communist rule, its viability as well as its prospect of democracy. The People's Congresses and Governance in China presents a complex but convincing analysis of the transformation of governance in China. As the first systemic and theoretical study of China's provincial legislatures, it draws our attention to one of the most promising growth points in China's changing constitutional order. Through in depth and first hand research, the author provides a comprehensive explanation about why the provincial legislatures have acquired institutional maturation and expanded power in the context of Chinese transitional political economy. The book portrays an innovative pattern of legislative development, sums up pragmatic local strategies for market creation, and identifies multiple dynamics for promoting accountability and democracy. Based upon the case study of provincial legislatures, Ming Xia reveals the formation of a new mode of governance in China's national politics: the network structure featuring institutional arrangements and the mohe (co-operation through competition) pattern of interaction abided by the major power players. This volume will be of interest to parliamentary scholars and parliamentarians who are concerned with the role of parliaments in transitional politics and economies of both post-communist and developing countries. It will also appeal to students and researchers of Chinese politics, governance and Asian studies.

The remarkable changes in China over the past three decades are mostly considered at the national level, whereas local government which has played and continues to play a key role in these developments is often overlooked. The themes of China s local administrative hierarchy, and its historical evolution, have until now received scant attention; this book fills that gap, and presents a comprehensive survey of China s local administration, from the province down to the township. It examines the political and functional definitions and historical origins of the nine local administrative levels or categories in contemporary China: the province, the centrally-administered municipality, the ethnic minority autonomous region, the special administrative region, the deputy-provincial city, the prefecture, the county, township and urban district. It investigates how each of the different levels of China s local administration has developed historically, both before and after 1949; and it explores the functions, political and economic, that the different levels and units carry out, and how their relationships with superior and subordinate units have evolved over time. It also discusses how far the post-Mao reforms have affected local administration, and how the local administrative hierarchy is likely to develop going forward.

This book discusses the Belt and Road Initiative at the provincial level in China. It analyses the evolution of the role of local governments in Chinese foreign policy since the opening of China's economy in 1978, showing how the provinces initially competed with each other, and how the central government was forced to react, developing more centralised policies. Unlike other books on the Belt and Road Initiative, which focus on the international aspects of the initiative, this book demonstrates the importance of the Belt and Road in reinforcing China's unitary status and for managing and coordinating development at the local level as well as centre-province relations and province to province relations inside China.

Analyzes the extent to which the voters of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah are concerned about problems associated with development and the extent to which state senators respond to voters' concerns. Originally published in 1980

Local government innovation has become one of the most important topics on China's policy agenda in recent decades. This book explains why some local governments are more innovative than others. This book uses a novel theoretical framework and points out that in China's multi-level government structure, the administrative hierarchy and the span of control could shape local governments' innovation motivation, innovation capability, and innovation opportunity, thus influencing local government innovativeness. The author systematically analysed the 177 winners and finalists of the biennial Innovations and Excellence in Chinese Local Governance (IECLG) Awards Programme from 2001 to 2015 to provide convincing empirical evidence to support this theory. This book adopts an institutional approach to explaining local government innovativeness in China and may be a useful reference to help us learn more about local government decisions and behaviours.

Your roadmap to community leadership: This significant guide puts the tools of democracy into everyones hands. Based on the best of Blandin Foundations 20-year experience in developing community leaders, it gives community members like yourself the tools to bring people together to make changes. Here are some of the useful resources you'll find: Identifying Community Assets; Community Problem Analysis; Accessing Community Data; Appreciative Inquiry; Translating Vision to Action; Interpersonal Communication for Leaders; Managing Interpersonal Conflict as a Leader; Building Social Capital Across Cultures; Network Mapping: Locating Your Social Capital; Stakeholders Analysis; Building Coalitions; Building Effective Community Teams; Recruiting and Sustaining Volunteers; Getting the Most from Your Meetings. Across the country, individuals and groups are hearing a bugle call to action. Rural, urban, rich, poor, left, right, and everywhere in between community members are waking up to bridge differences and make their communities the best they can be. If you want to make a difference where you live, this book is your roadmap. If you attend early and late night meetings to figure out what needs to get done, this book is your handbook. If you give your time and energy to make things happen, this book is your guide. If you work to involve your neighbors to solve problems, this book is your ally. Carefully crafted examples based on real-life leadership issues help you see how to put the tools of leadership to work where you live, today. Whether you are an active community member who wants to make a difference, a nonprofit leader serving the community, a leadership advisor, a government liaison called on to convene the community, a business leader, a public servant, or a foundation program officer specializing in community needs, you will find in this book the tools and theories essential to getting your work done.