Kategoria BISAC: Political Science >> Public Policy - General

This book compares the policies of Australia and Italy towards boat people who have arrived in the two countries since the early 1990s. While the regular and varied inflow of immigrants arriving at national airports, ferry terminals and train stations is seldom witnessed by the public, the arrival of boat people is often played out in the media and consequently attracts disproportionate political and public attention. Both Australia and Italy faced similar dilemmas, but the nature of political debate on the issue, the types of strategies introduced, and the effects that policy changes had...

The book examines the highly dynamic communication ecology of recent contentious politics and its expanding digital footprint. First, it looks at the attainment of democratic citizenship through practice as street protests attract substantial numbers of followers who narrate their involvement or reflect on the claims and the implications of collective action on social media. Secondly, it considers the ramifications for contemporary democracy arising from the large-scale uptake of social media by variegated protest networks, which no longer pivot on the coordination capacity of bureaucratic...

Tackling the...

This book studies the relationship between administrative capacity and a member state s influence in the European Union. More specifically, it studies member states ability to exert control over the European Commission during trade negotiations. But what determines administrative capacity and how do member states ensure their preferences are defended during trade negotiations? A combination of qualitative fieldwork and survey-analysis provides the answer. Interviews in Belgium, Poland, Estonia and Spain offer a privileged insight into the functioning of national trade administrations and...

This book compares the trajectories and effects of local public sector reform in Europe and fills a research gap that has existed so far in comparative public administration and local government studies. Based on the results of COST research entitled, 'Local Public Sector Reforms: an International Comparison', this volume takes a European-scale approach, examining local government in 28 countries. Local government has been the most seriously affected by the continuously expanding global financial crisis and austerity policies in some countries, and is experiencing a period of increased...

This book deals with the critical empirical void created by the speed at which healthcare restructuring has taken place in Europe. Chapters explore the political uncertainty and budgetary pressures which have led governments increasingly to turn to New Public Management (NPM)-style reforms to attempt to balance the financial viability of public health structures, with democratic imperatives to maintain socially just outcomes. The authors of this volume consider how governments have therefore shifted identities from principal care providers to contractual monitors, setting targets...

This book explores rising labor unrest in China as it integrates into the global political economy. The book highlights the tensions present between China's efforts to internationalize and accept claims to respect freedom of association rights, and its continuing insistence on a restrictive, and often punitive, approach to worker organizations. The author examines how the global labor movement can support the improvement of working conditions in Chinese factories. The book presents a novel multi-level approach capturing how trade unions and labor rights NGOs have mobilized along different...

Lobbyists in Washington aren't a new phenomenon. Since the early days of the republic, citizens and groups alike have hired professionals to press their interests with lawmakers. However, recent examples of misconduct--like that seen in the Abramoff scandal--highlight the unique ethical challenges this industry faces in the twenty-first century.

Though major scandals happen less frequently than popularly believed, the more pervasive ethics problem is that members of the profession often cut deals that go against their clients' interests. They sacrifice the interests of those they...