This book will be welcomed by students pursuing an MPA, undergraduates studying public policy and administration, and practitioners on government in-service training.
The contributors to this volume contend that the North American political system is undergoing a serious governmental crisis - political leaders know only how to campaign, not how to gain consensus on goals or direct a course that is to the good of the nation. Public administration is therefore forced to compensate for the growing inadequacy of the `leaders', and with a normative-based body of theorizing, perform its key role of governance within a democratic system of polycentric power. The book offers a revisualization of the relationship between public servants and the citizens they serve, and a continuing discourse on how public administration can constructively balance forces of change and stability in order for democracy to evolve and mature.
Identifies how the relationships among citizens, legislatures, executive and organizational structures, and stakeholders interact, in order to better diagnose and solve problems in public management. This title takes that relational concept into realms of conceptualization and application.
Exploring the lessons that can be drawn from the United States's experience in providing affordable, low-cost housing, this book reviews recent developments in the US regarding such provision. Topics covered include: the changing role of the federal government; greater responsibility of state and local government; and innovative financial mechanisms. The book comprises case studies of success stories. A conclusion weaves together the strands developed in the individual case studies, examines criteria that define success, identifies common factors, and considers opportunities for developing more effective policies and programmes.
Executive Organization and Management in the Twenty-First Century
What are the basic concepts of executive organization and management? How does executive organization affect management? How can executive organization and management be improved? In Making Government Manageable, Thomas H. Stanton and Benjamin Ginsberg bring together a distinguished group of authorities from both the academic and political worlds ......
What makes for a "good" legislature? In Heavy Lifting, Alan Rosenthal traveled to five states, interviewing and shadowing legislators to find out the answer. Through this engaging narrative, the author first establishes the most important aspects of American state legislatures--what they are and how they do their jobs--and then graduates to the book's central thesis: Rosenthal argues that, on the whole, the American legislature must be evaluated on the basis of its processes, not its products. He breaks down the legislative process into three principal functions: representing, lawmaking, and balancing the executive, and covers each in turn in the remainder of the book.
Trust and the Politics of Implementation, Second Edition, Revised and Updated
Examines reasons why environmental laws seldom work out exactly as planned. Casting federal-state working relationships as 'pulling together,' 'coming apart,' or somewhere in-between, this title provides dozens of observations from federal and state officials.
In its global campaign to fight terrorism is the Bush administration trying to muzzle freedom of speech? Written by the editor of "International Press Institute", this work documents a number of incidents of attempted press censorship in this perspective on the rising tensions between powerful government interests and independent journalists.
No other institution better mirrors the division of American political power than the congressional districts in the U.S. House of Representatives. Understanding the makeup of districts is essential to understanding national politics and power in Washington. CQ Press continues its thirty-year history of illuminating the often-hidden mystery of congressional districts in the long-awaited Congressional Districts in the 2000s: A Portrait of America. Each decade a new national census requires reapportionment changes in the number of seats per state in the House and redistricting redrawing the boundaries for each district in a state. The outcome of this decennial exercise controls the division of power between the parties. Congressional Districts in the 2000s looks at the process and the results in fine detail. Each of the 435 districts that comprise the full House is examined to show demographic composition, economic status, business operations, media, and more. No other single source provides such a full portrait of each state's districts, and thereby the entire nation. The book is your one-stop source for the right information. Here's what you will find: Each state as a self-contained chapter. Profiles of each district in a state, including: Text description of the district, key election returns and population figures Cities and counties in the district and their populations Demographic data such as race and Hispanic origin Universities and colleges, newspapers, television and cable providers Business and other major employers. The 2000 presidential vote reconfigured to fit the new districts, giving a measure of Republican/Democrat strength in the new districts. A state map showing the congressional district lines, county lines, and major cities. Urban maps are included for states with large cities and metropolitan areas. Summary demographic tables from census data for each district showing: voting-age persons by race and age groups Population, education, housing patterns, income and occupation. All of the array of information is quickly accessible through a group of indexes for each major component in the book. Congressional Districts in the 2000s is the authoritative one-stop source of information about the new congressional districts that will be in place for the next decade. Students, scholars, teachers, lobbyists, journalists, interested citizens, and politicians across the ideological spectrum will consult this volume time and again for vital information.
