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While civics textbooks describe an idealized model of "how a bill
becomes law;" journalists often emphasize special interest lobbying
and generous campaign contributions to Congress; and other
textbooks describe common stages through which all policies
progress, these approaches fail to convey-much less explain-the
tremendous diversity in political processes that shape specific
policies in contemporary Washington. Bridging the gap between
textbook models of how public policy should work, and how the
process actually works in contemporary Washington, Pathways of
Power provides a framework that integrates the roles of political
interests and policy ideals in the contemporary policy process.
This book argues that the policy process can be understood as a set
of four distinctive pathways of policymaking-pluralist, partisan,
expert, and symbolic-that draw upon different political resources,
appeal to different political actors, and elicit unique strategies
and styles of coalition building. Revealing the strategic behavior
of policy actors who compete to shift policies onto pathways that
maximize their resources and influence, the book provides a fresh
approach to understanding the seeming chaos and volatility of the
policy process today. The book's use of a wide universe of major
policy decisions and case studies, focused on such key areas as
health care, federal budgeting, and tax policy, provides a useful
foundation for students of the policy process as well as for policy
practitioners eager to learn more about their craft.
While civics textbooks describe an idealized model of "how a bill
becomes law;" journalists often emphasize special interest lobbying
and generous campaign contributions to Congress; and other
textbooks describe common stages through which all policies
progress, these approaches fail to convey-much less explain-the
tremendous diversity in political processes that shape specific
policies in contemporary Washington. Bridging the gap between
textbook models of how public policy should work, and how the
process actually works in contemporary Washington, Pathways of
Power provides a framework that integrates the roles of political
interests and policy ideals in the contemporary policy process.
This book argues that the policy process can be understood as a set
of four distinctive pathways of policymaking-pluralist, partisan,
expert, and symbolic-that draw upon different political resources,
appeal to different political actors, and elicit unique strategies
and styles of coalition building. Revealing the strategic behavior
of policy actors who compete to shift policies onto pathways that
maximize their resources and influence, the book provides a fresh
approach to understanding the seeming chaos and volatility of the
policy process today. The book's use of a wide universe of major
policy decisions and case studies, focused on such key areas as
health care, federal budgeting, and tax policy, provides a useful
foundation for students of the policy process as well as for policy
practitioners eager to learn more about their craft.
The underappreciated but surprisingly successful implementation of
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) helped rescue the
economy during the Great Recession and represented one of the most
important achievements of the Obama presidency. It tested all
levels of government with urgent time frames and extensive
accountability requirements. While ARRA passed most tests with
comparatively little mismanagement or fraud, negative public and
media perceptions of the initiative deprived the president of
political credit. Drawing on more than two hundred interviews and
nationwide field research, Governing under Stress examines a range
of ARRA stimulus programs to analyze the fraught politics, complex
implementation, and impact of the legislation. Essays from public
administration scholars use ARRA to study how to implement large
federal programs in our modern era of indirect, networked
governance. Throughout, the contributors present potent insights
into the most pressing challenges facing public policy and
management, and they uncover important lessons about policy
instruments and networks, the effects of transparency and
accountability, and the successes and failures of different types
of government intervention.
The underappreciated but surprisingly successful implementation of
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) helped rescue the
economy during the Great Recession and represented one of the most
important achievements of the Obama presidency. It tested all
levels of government with urgent time frames and extensive
accountability requirements. While ARRA passed most tests with
comparatively little mismanagement or fraud, negative public and
media perceptions of the initiative deprived the president of
political credit. Drawing on more than two hundred interviews and
nationwide field research, Governing under Stress examines a range
of ARRA stimulus programs to analyze the fraught politics, complex
implementation, and impact of the legislation. Essays from public
administration scholars use ARRA to study how to implement large
federal programs in our modern era of indirect, networked
governance. Throughout, the contributors present potent insights
into the most pressing challenges facing public policy and
management, and they uncover important lessons about policy
instruments and networks, the effects of transparency and
accountability, and the successes and failures of different types
of government intervention.
America's complex system of multi-layered government faces new
challenges as a result of rapidly changing economic, technological,
and demographic trends. An aging population, economic
globalization, and homeland security concerns are among the
powerful factors testing the system's capacity and flexibility.
Major policy challenges and responses are now overwhelmingly
intergovernmental in nature, and as a result, the fortunes of all
levels of government are more intertwined and interdependent than
ever before. This volume, cosponsored by the National Academy of
Public Administration (NAPA), defines an agenda for improving the
performance of America's intergovernmental system. The early
chapters present the current state of practice in intergovernmental
relations, including discussion of trends toward centralization,
devolution, and other power-sharing arrangements. The fiscal
underpinnings of the system are analyzed, along with the long-term
implications of current trends in financing at all levels. The
authors identify the principal tools used to define
intergovernmental management-grants, mandates, preemptions -in
discussing emerging models and best practices in the design and
management of those tools. Intergovernmental Management for the
21st Century a pplies these crosscutting themes to critical policy
areas where intergovernmental management and cooperation are
essential, such as homeland security, education, welfare, health
care, and the environment. It concludes with an authoritative
assessment of the system's capacity to govern, oversee, and
improve. Contributors include Jocelyn Johnston (American
University), Shelley Metzenbaum (University of Maryland), Richard
Nathan (SUNY at Albany), Barry Rabe (University of Michigan), Beryl
Radin (American University), Alice Rivlin (Brookings Institution),
Ray Sheppach (National Governors Association), Frank Shafroth
(George Mason University), Troy Smith (BYU-Hawaii), Carl Stenberg
(University of North Carolina), Carol Weissert (Florida State
University), Charles Wise (Indiana University), and Kenneth Wong
(Brown University).
In the period from 1970 to the early 1990s, Republican leaders
launched three major reforms of the federal system. Although all
three initiatives advanced decentralization as a goal, they were
remarkably different in their policy objectives, philosophical
assumptions, patterns of politics, and policy outcomes. Expanding
and updating his acclaimed book, New Federalism: Intergovernmental
Reform from Nixon to Reagan (1988), Timothy Conlan provides a
comprehensive look at intergovernmental reform from Nixon to the
104th Congress. The stated objectives of Republican reformers
evolved from rationalizing and decentralizing an activist
government, to rolling back the welfare state, to replacing it
altogether. Conlan first explains why conservatives have placed so
much emphasis on federal reform in their domestic agendas. He then
examines Nixon's New Federalism, including management reforms and
revenue sharing; analyzes the policies and politics of the "Reagan
revolution"; and reviews the legislative limitations and
achievements of the 104th Congress. Finally, he traces the
remarkable evolution of federalism reform politics and ideology
during the past 30 years and provides alternative scenarios for the
future of American federalism.
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