The author offers insights into the management of public programmes by the Japanese government which has, since the Second World War, achieved a record of remarkable growth economically, socially and educationally, and has also restructured its national prefectural and municipal governments. This development has been led, he argues, not only by Prime Ministers and Ministers of State, but by the leadership of the ministries of national government and the leaders of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party which together constitute the "three rings of power" which rule the country. The author reveals how the inncer circles of the ruling party, the ministers and political leaders overlap in the exercise of power, explains the financial and leadership relationships between national and municipal governments and how national government influences the private sector. He also uses national education and transport systems to illustrate how national government deploys its powers and authorities. Charles Bingman is a former Deputy Associate Director in the US Office of Management and Budget, and Deputy Administrator of the Urban Mass Transportation Administration. He has held top executive positi

Never in modern times has there been a greater need for understanding of the Muslim world. Nothing in that world is more important than the relationship between Muslims and their Faith, yet now that Faith has become far more confusing and challenging. The emergence of religious fundamentalism, often linked to terrorism, seems wholly inconsistent with the teaching of the Quran and the other holy documents of the Faith, which defines itself as a religion of peace and forgiveness. Muslims everywhere have found themselves facing two dilemmas: first, a failure of the governments that demand to rule them; and then a major concern over what kind of Faith true Muslims should believe in. But while religion tends to control people's lives, it is not the primary source of conflict in the Muslim world. That source is the yearning for power which has produced leadership unwilling to negotiate and unable to compromise, along with the sins of personal greed and a culture of corruption.

What do most Muslims really want? To live in peace, to live a devout life, and to achieve a successful life for themselves and their children. "Governments in the Muslim World" describes in many ways how far they are from these desires.

Every day the newspapers and TV detail new government pathologies: stolen elections, violence against citizens, official murders, destruction of villages and homes, corrupt police and public officials, and billions of dollars simply stolen for the personal gain of some ruling elite. People know that governments are necessary and important, but they simply do not understand why they turn out to be dangerous, vicious, incompetent and corrupt. This book can give people valuable insights about how and why governments go wrong. It diagnoses political, economic, social and managerial perverse and destructive practices, provides frameworks for understanding why they come about, and offers some solutions to make governments more honest and responsive to public need.