Kategoria BISAC: Political Science >> Public Policy - General

Most policy books confine their historical discussions to a relatively short time frame. This book offers a long-term historical analysis of American immigration policy. "From Open Door to Dutch Door" details current policy and its shortcomings. In addition, the book describes the four distinct phases of U.S. immigration policy since 1820, why these shifts occurred, and their impact on decisions being made today. Written in a clear and readable style, the book combines a historical approach with an assessment of a timely and topical area of public policy.

Koven examines how political philosophy shapes public policy. In particular, he emphasizes the influence of ideology on one policy area--budgeting in the public sector. That political beliefs greatly affect the type of policy implemented appears obvious, as would the benefit of rational--not ideological--policymaking. Yet, the question of whether policy is developed by politically biased appointees or by neutral administrators is not so easily answered. Koven asserts that government policy determined by philosophical factors directly contradicts the view that public policy should be...

LeMay offers an insightful examination of the enactment of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and the Immigration Act of 1990. Using the enactment of immigration policy reform--the most substantial since 1965--he illustrates the various stages of the public policy process. He shows how problems, such as the illegal alien influx, become perceived of as public problems and get on the policy agenda of government. He illustrates the interaction of interest groups and political leadership in the branches of government in the formulation and enactment of policy reform.

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This book examines anti-gay voter initiatives from both the political science and communication perspectives. In recent years, anti-gay initiatives sponsored by conservative Christian groups have been placed on the ballot in several states. This development provides an opportunity to evaluate the initiative process as a way of resolving public policy questions on this divisive topic. Using examples and data from Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Maine, Missouri, Florida, California, and Washington, the authors discuss the emergence of the new religious right and why anti-gay initiatives are...

An insider's account of how presidential commissions create public policy for privacy protection, energy accountability, and privatization. Linowes describes with candor the process designed by private citizens, which culminates in needed legislation. DEGREESL DEGREESL This story is rich in testimony from public and private collectors of personal data who were pressed, under oath, to reveal how they obtain, use, and abuse the information. Two energy commissions reveal their discovery of the theft of oil on federal and Indian lands by major oil companies. The second energy panel resolved a...

Civil rights rhetoric has been central to the debate over U.S. immigration policy since at least the 1960s. A coalition of interest groups, including churches, ethnic organizations, civil rights groups, and employer associations has played a fundamental role in advancing civil rights norms in the immigration arena. The growing importance of civil rights rhetoric in the debate over U.S. immigration policy, DeLaet asserts, helps to explain the liberalization of U.S. immigration policy in spite of growing evidence that the public opposition to immigration has grown during the same period. In...

It is widely held that private ownership is the preferred end state for all scarce resources. Those who hold this view have not looked closely enough at water in the American West, Barbanell contends. Because of water's special attributes, private ownership is an ineffective means for protecting individuals interests. Splitting the various rights of ownership between individual resources users and the community to which they belong can better protect those interests. Barbanell develops a conception of this form of common ownership, a common-property arrangement, and shows that it can...

This study offers an unprecedented examination of the state, politics, and bureaucracy from a historical and comparative perspective. Case histories of a wide variety of bureaucratic traditions are provided in an effort to text a new theoretical approach in which the theory of the state and the theory of bureaucracy, both of which have so far developed without systematic interaction, are merged. Beginning with a chapter elucidating the editor's theoretical framework, the volume proceeds to compare state tradition and bureaucratic structures in both developed countries. Essays are included...

This book takes a critical look at Edward S. Corwin's Hamilton thesis, which names Alexander Hamilton as the primary contributor to the modern theory of presidential power. It examines the theoretical and practical articulation of the presidency by Hamilton and George Washington, the development of the modern theory through the administrations of Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Wilson, and FDR, and the theories of other presidential scholars. An epilogue discusses the direction of the presidency after Ronald Reagan. This is an important book for students of the American Presidency. It should...

This is an insightful overview of what is happening at the cutting edge of professional public policy analysis. Written by a well-known expert, the survey assesses the many and varied aspects of the policy studies discipline. Stuart Nagel has provided an analysis of the profession that will be useful to practitioners and academics, as well as students and teachers, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

This survey begins by suggesting ways for professionals to become more effective and interdisciplinary in their approaches to dealing with public policy. The author also analyzes...

The development and use of nuclear power in the United States has become stalemated. After the early promise of energy too cheap to meter, public concerns and legal challenges have stymied the nuclear power industry. Chief among these is the issue of safe disposal of nuclear waste. This volume, therefore, examines the dynamics of nuclear waste disposal policy. It is organized to address a wide range of issues found in the policy debate, e.g., the interrelationship between science and public choice, policy management and implementation, legal protection and liability, quality assurance and...

This edited volume is a comprehensive examination of the legal framework in which environmental policy is fashioned in the major English-speaking federations--the United States, Canada, and Australia. The need for national solutions to environmental problems emerged long after the largest share of governmental power was allotted to states or provinces. This volume attempts to solve the paradox of how a country can have effective laws protecting the environment, vigorously enforced, when legislative and administrative powers are divided between two tiers of government.

The contributors...

It is the rare reorganization that has a substantial impact on the output of affected agencies or on the delivery of public services. Empirical evidence in Federal Narcotics Enforcement sheds new light on both the history and politics of American drug enforcement efforts and the reasons behind the generally dismal record of large-scale government reorganization. This book demonstrates how the objectives of reorganization in the drug enforcement area failed and extends the lesson of failure to show that more substantive planning and operational level changes are required for real...