Public Administration Books - Page 4

Unspeakable Truths: Facing the Challenges of Truth Commissions

Priscilla B. Hayner

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Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Unspeakable Truths is a profound, definitive exploration of truth commissions around the world, and the anguish, injustice, and the legacy of hate they are meant to absolve. After years of political turmoil, repression, and murder, then what? Truth commissions-official investigations into government crimes and misconduct are the only medicine a new government has to cure the diseases of the old regime. In Unspeakable Truths , world renowned expert Priscilla Hayner examines the twenty major truth commissions established around the world, paying special attention to South Africa, El Salvador, Argentina, Chile, and Guatemala. As she explores the inner workings of these tribunals, Hayner finds that victims are torn between the need to remember and the need to forget. In the new post-Cold War order, the future of democracy and peace may rest on this debate. Unspeakable Truths moves through the murders, disappearances, and tragedies that characterized corrupt regimes like those of Idi Amin or August Pinochet, but Hayner handles these issues with grace and subtlety, using these stories and others to shine a light on the triumphs and shortcomings of past commissions.

The Oxford Handbook of Public Management (Oxford Handbooks in Business and Management)

Ewan Ferlie

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Subjects -> Business & Investing -> General
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Editorial Review:

The public sector continues to play a strategic role across the world. The last thirty years have seen major shifts in approaches to public sector management in many countries. There is also a fierce debate across academic disciplines about contemporary public administration/management: some advocate the use of more managerialist approaches; while others see managerialism as undermining democratic institutions. New roles have arisen, such as programme evaluation, management consulting, and reliance on NGOs and partnerships, which require new assessments. There is an intensified need for an analysis of contemporary public sector organisations, which are changing rapidly before our eyes.
It is thus time for an authoritative treatment of the major trends in public management, embracing both their intended and unintended consequences. This Handbook brings together leading international scholars to comment on key current issues. The individual chapters include broad overviews, in depth explorations of particular thematic areas and analyses of different theoretical perspectives such as political science, management, sociology and economics. The authors have space to develop their distinctive arguments. The editors provide an overall concluding chapter. The Handbook combines scholarly rigour, engaging writing and high policy relevance. It will be invaluable to advanced students, researchers and reflective public sector practitioners.

Truth v. Justice

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Editorial Review:

The truth commission is an increasingly common fixture of newly democratic states with repressive or strife-ridden pasts. From South Africa to Haiti, truth commissions are at work with varying degrees of support and success. To many, they are the best--or only--way to achieve a full accounting of crimes committed against fellow citizens and to prevent future conflict. Others question whether a restorative justice that sets the guilty free, that cleanses society by words alone, can deter future abuses and allow victims and their families to heal. Here, leading philosophers, lawyers, social scientists, and activists representing several perspectives look at the process of truth commissioning in general and in post-apartheid South Africa. They ask whether the truth commission, as a method of seeking justice after conflict, is fair, moral, and effective in bringing about reconciliation.

The authors weigh the virtues and failings of truth commissions, especially the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in their attempt to provide restorative rather than retributive justice. They examine, among other issues, the use of reparations as social policy and the granting of amnesty in exchange for testimony. Most of the contributors praise South Africa's decision to trade due process for the kinds of truth that permit closure. But they are skeptical that such revelations produce reconciliation, particularly in societies that remain divided after a compromise peace with no single victor, as in El Salvador. Ultimately, though, they find the truth commission to be a worthy if imperfect instrument for societies seeking to say "never again" with confidence. At a time when truth commissions have been proposed for Bosnia, Kosovo, Cyprus, East Timor, Cambodia, Nigeria, Palestine, and elsewhere, the authors' conclusion that restorative justice provides positive gains could not be more important.

In addition to the editors, the contributors are Amy Gutmann, Rajeev Bhargava, Elizabeth Kiss, David A. Crocker, André du Toit, Alex Boraine, Dumisa Ntsebeza, Lisa Kois, Ronald C. Slye, Kent Greenawalt, Sanford Levinson, Martha Minow, Charles S. Maier, Charles Villa-Vicencio, and Wilhelm Verwoerd.

Managing Within Networks: Adding Value to Public Organizations (Public Management and Change)

Robert Agranoff

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Editorial Review:

The real work of many governments is done not in stately domed capitols but by a network of federal and state officials working with local governments and nongovernmental organizations to address issues that cross governmental boundaries. "Managing within Networks" analyzes the structure, operations, and achievements of these public management networks that are trying to solve intractable problems at the field level. It examines such areas as transportation, economic and rural development, communications systems and data management, water conservation, wastewater management, watershed conservation, and services for persons with developmental disabilities. Robert Agranoff draws a number of innovative conclusions about what these networks do and how they do it from data compiled on fourteen public management networks in Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Ohio. Agranoff identifies four different types of networks based on their purposes and observes the differences between network management and traditional management structures and leadership. He notes how knowledge is managed and value added within intergovernmental networks. This volume is useful for students, scholars, and practitioners of public management.

The Case for Bureaucracy: A Public Administration Polemic

Charles T. Goodsell

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Case for Bureaucracy persuasively argues that American public servants and administrative institutions are among the best in the world. Contrary to popular stereotypes, they are neither sources of great waste nor a threat to liberty, but social assets of critical value to a functioning democracy. In presenting his case, Goodsell touches on core aspects of public administration while drawing on important, recent events to bring case material and empirical evidence fully up to date.

This new edition incorporates the events of 9/11 to explore their impact on future bureaucratic performance, speaking specifically to the massive reorganization under the new Department of Homeland Security. As well, Goodsell offers a complete assessment of the reinventing government movement and related reforms to show how far bureaucracies have come, while pointing to the challenges they continue to face.

Updating worth highlighting:

• New data on public perceptions of bureaucracy.
• New section on the delegation of policy implementation to contractors and nonprofits.
• New statistics regarding quality-of-life improvements in American society since the 1980s.
• New profiles of real bureaucrats--and citizen interaction with them--giving bureaucracy a human face.
• New material on bureaucratic contributions to the political system that go beyond implementing policy.
• New coverage of the administrative consolidation following 9/11 and competitive outsourcing by the Bush Administration.
• New analysis of current reform proposals focused on market competition and business management practices.
• New proposals for ways to improve bureaucracy.

Retaking Rationality: How Cost Benefit Analysis Can Better Protect the Environment and Our Health

Richard Revesz, Michael Livermore

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Editorial Review:

That America's natural environment has been degraded and despoiled over the past 25 years is beyond dispute. Nor has there been any shortage of reasons why-short-sighted politicians, a society built on over-consumption, and the dramatic weakening of environmental regulations.
In Retaking Rationality, Richard Revesz and Michael Livermore argue convincingly that one of the least understood-and most important-causes of our failure to protect the environment has been a misguided rejection of reason. The authors show that environmentalists, labor unions, and other progressive groups have declined to participate in the key governmental proceedings concerning the cost-benefit analysis of federal regulations. As a result of this vacuum, industry groups have captured cost-benefit analysis and used it to further their anti-regulatory ends. Beginning in 1981, the federal Office of Management and Budget and the federal courts have used cost-benefit analysis extensively to determine which environmental, health, and safety regulations are approved and which are sent back to the drawing board. The resulting imbalance in political participation has profoundly affected the nation's regulatory and legal landscape. But Revesz and Livermore contend that economic analysis of regulations is necessary and that it needn't conflict with-and can in fact support-a more compassionate approach to environmental policy. Indeed, they show that we cannot give up on rationality if we truly want to protect our natural environment.
Retaking Rationality makes clear that by embracing and reforming cost-benefit analysis, and by joining reason and compassion, progressive groups can help enact strong environmental and public health regulation.

Public Information Technology: Policy and Management Issues

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

strictly school 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Very boring. I like the easy wayit reads. I wouldn't have bought it unless it wasn't necessary for school.

Great text 4 out of 5 stars.
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Im using this required book for a Masters course in IT. I find the book very useful.

Editorial Review:

Public Information Technology: Policy and Management Issues constitutes a survey of many of the most important dimensions of managing information technology in the public sector. Written by noted academics and public administration practitioners, this book addresses general policy and administrative issues in this arena as well as the information technology skills needed by public managers.

The Politics Presidents Make: Leadership from John Adams to Bill Clinton

Stephen Skowronek

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Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

BRILLIANT, but a tad dense 4 out of 5 stars.
12 of 12 people found this review helpful.

This is definitely a difficult book, and understanding certain critical passages may require several readings. In short, this is NOT a good book for an introduction to presidential politics and leadership. For a more readable and still highly regarded account, Neustadt's seminal work is a good choice. However, none of this is to say that Skowronek's book is not brilliant--it is, and reading it carefully is a very profitable experience and will enhance anyone's understanding of the presidency, agree with Professor Skowronek or not. Through all the technical references, Skowronek proposes a paradigm for assessing presidential leadership: Reconstruction, Disjunction, Articulation, and Pre-emption, all of which are based on the nature of the government and its commitments (vulnerable or resilient) and on the president's relationship to that regime (opposed or affiliated). Reconstruction results when presidents are opposed to a vulnerable regime--here are the "great" presidents: Lincoln, FDR, and Reagan, for example. Affiliation with a vulnerable regime produces Disjunction. Articulation results from affiliation with a resilient regime. And Pre-emption is the product of opposition to a resilient regime. Of course, this merely scratches the surface of Skowronek's argument, for which he argues quite well and which he approaches from a fairly historical perspective. I highly recommend this for anyone wishing to gain a deeper, fuller understanding of presidential leadership, especially in considering how much a president's skills affect what type of leader he is and how much circumstances shape his presidency.

Editorial Review:

Stephen Skowronek's wholly innovative study demonstrates that presidents are persistent agents of change, continually disrupting and transforming the political landscape. In an afterword to this new edition, the author examines "third way" leadership as it has been practiced by Bill Clinton and others. These leaders are neither great repudiators nor orthodox innovators. They challenge received political categories, mix seemingly antithetical doctrines, and often take their opponents' issues as their own. As the 1996 election confirmed, third way leadership has great electoral appeal. The question is whether Clinton in his second term will escape the convulsive end so often associated with the type.

The Complete Idiot's Guide To American Government

Mary Shaffrey, Melanie Fonder

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

It makes watching CNN more interesting now. 4 out of 5 stars.
12 of 12 people found this review helpful.

I've never had any interest in politics and government. But now, as an adult it is virtually impossible to escape it. Whether it means holding an intelligent conversation or stepping into the voting booth I've realized that it is so important to understand how our system works in order to understand the information thrown at us and make informed decisions.
This book really helped me get there. Now, when I watch CNN I actually understand what I'm hearing. I'm also more comfortable with my political affiliation. A friend of mine is very informed on the subject and I have always admired his level of intelligence. Part of my reason for buying this book was to increase my ability to have an informed and unbiased discussion on today's most important topics.
I would recommend this book to any high-school student studying American government or any adult feeling they want to understand our system better. The amount of information in the book is huge!! Don't try to memorize anything but the fundamentals. Other than that, either read through it, retain what you can, and keep it around as reference.

Editorial Review:

The most up-to-date general reference book on the history and structure of U.S. government.

This overview of all the government’s major institutions and agencies, the election process, and the creation and passing of laws and taxes has been updated with the latest information on such important issues as campaign finance reform, fundraising, and homeland security.

• Completely updated resource section includes the latest government websites
• The only American government book to include the results of the 2004 presidential election
• Re-structured to complement high school and college political science/civics courses

Driving Democracy: Do Power-Sharing Institutions Work?

Pippa Norris

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Editorial Review:

Proposals for power-sharing constitutions remain controversial, as highlighted by current debates in Iraq, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Sudan. This book updates and refines the theory of consociationalism, taking account of the flood of contemporary innovations in power-sharing institutions that have occurred worldwide. The book classifies and compares four types of political institutions: the electoral system, parliamentary or presidential executives, unitary or federal states, and the structure and independence of the mass media. The study tests the potential advantages and disadvantages of each of these institutions for democratic governance. Cross-national time-series data concerning trends in democracy are analyzed for all countries worldwide since the early 1970s. Chapters are enriched by comparing detailed case studies. The mixed-method research design illuminates the underlying causal mechanisms by examining historical developments and processes of institutional change within particular nations and regions. The conclusion draws together the results and the practical lessons for policymakers.