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This book tells the story of the 2020 presidential election campaign, exploring how Joe Biden secured the Democratic nomination and defeated Donald Trump in the general election. It argues that Democratic Party elites paved the way for Biden's victory, enabling him to overcome numerous campaign missteps to defeat one of the largest, wealthiest, most competitive fields in history. It details how elites discouraged potential rivals from entering the race, orchestrated rules to truncate the field, and steered voters toward Biden's candidacy both directly and indirectly. It shows how they helped the Biden campaign overcome early defeats in the first several contests and turn his campaign around. And it shows the critical role they played in mobilizing partisans to help Biden win the general election campaign and thwarting efforts to undermine his victory. Simply put, the book demonstrates that Biden would not have won the White House without maneuvering and manipulation by the Democratic establishment.

Interest Groups and Lobbying shows how political organizations and their lobbyists play a crucial role in how policy is made in the United States. It cuts through the myths and misconceptions about interest groups and lobbyists with an accessible and comprehensive text supported by real-world examples and the latest research.New to the Third Edition Further updates and expands the discussion of social media and other online activity engaged in by interest groups, showing that they have become more sophisticated in their use of the internet – especially social media – for keeping current members informed and for their advocacy work. New case studies on more recent advocacy efforts. Updated data used in the book, including: Data on the ideological distribution of Washington interest groups Total number and types of interest groups lobbying in the 50 states Data on campaign contributions Data on amicus briefs and case sponsorship New discussion on the ethical and public interest obligations of lobbyists.

Most books about presidential rhetoric focus on the United States. Few American communication scholars concentrate on Central and Eastern Europe. Media pundits and scholars alike framed this region as a place used for the United States'or Russia's Cold War ends—even after the Cold War ended. Beyond the Cold War: Presidential Rhetoric in Central and Eastern Europe brings scholars from Central and Eastern Europe and the United States together to study presidential rhetoric to make a compelling case for treating the leaders of the region with their own agency, rather than as agents of others. As postcolonial agents, leaders in the region have taken contrasting positions, avoiding the influence of post-Soviet politics and the pull toward westernization. Chapters offer insight into the connections and influence of presidential rhetoric in Central and Eastern Europe to contextualize and better understand how the rhetoric has either helped or hindered the development of democratic principles in the region many decades past the period of the'transition.'This book contributes to the understanding of international rhetoric by studying leaders and exchanges in which they meet—in state visits or as candidates debating. This book will be an invaluable resource for students of rhetoric and scholars interested in the communication of presidents in Central and Eastern Europe.'Beyond the Cold War lives up to its title. This collection of smart, insightful, and liberatory studies of Eastern Europe in the rhetorical imaginary of assorted presidents dispenses with outdated frameworks and, instead, takes these nations on their own terms. As these nations assert an ever more important role in international affairs, this book will become indispensable to those who want to understand their history and discourse.'— John M. Murphy, Professor, Dept. of Communication, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Now in its eighth edition, The Environmental Policy Paradox continues the book's tradition of offering an accessible introduction to the social, economic, legal, and political matters pertaining to environmental policy while also developing the student's own unique views. The text explains why some environmental ideas shape policy while others do not and illustrates that even when the best short- and long-term solutions to environmental problems are identified, the task of implementing these solutions is often left undone or is completed too late.New to the eighth edition: New topics including environmental social movements and the anti-environmental countermovements, environmental justice, corporate influence in regulatory affairs. Analyzes the growing policy divide between the two parties, and the efforts of both Republicans and Democratic presidents to undo the policies of their predecessor. Updated discussions of environmental justice issues. Includes a range of visual aids in figures and tables to demonstrate trends in the topics covered. A new co-author, Peter Jacques, recognized for his teaching and scholarship in global environmental politics and sustainability. A must-buy for courses in Environmental Policy, Environmental Studies, and Public Policy; and as a supplement for courses in American Government and Public Administration.

This book is the most comprehensive single volume reference work available for British political facts. Covering the period from 1900 to the present, it is the latest edition in a series previously edited by David Butler and various collaborators. This new edition updates the contents to the immediate post-European Union referendum period in the UK. It is useful to a wide range of potential readers, including students, educators, journalists, policy professionals, and anyone with an interest in politics and political history. It will be valuable to academics working in a variety of disciplines, including history and political science.

This open access volume assesses the influence of our changing media environment. Today, there is not one single medium that is the driving force of change. With the spread of various technical communication media such as mobile phones and internet platforms, we are confronted with a media manifold of deep mediatization. But how can we investigate its transformative capability? This book answers this question by taking a non-media-centric perspective, researching the various figurations of collectivities and organizations humans are involved in. The first part of the book outlines a fundamental understanding of the changing media environment of deep mediatization and its transformative capacity. The second part focuses on collectivities and movements: communities in the city, critical social movements, maker, online gaming groups and networked groups of young people. The third part moves institutions and organizations into the foreground, discussing the transformation of journalism, religion, politics, and education, whilst the fourth and final part is dedicated to methodologies and perspectives.

Many U.S. citizens and policymakers look to Alaska as a resource storehouse for the remaining years of 1980s and beyond. This book examines the federal and state policies, economic and political constraints, and social consequences of Alaskan resources development during two decades.

Public Administration and Public Affairs demonstrates how to govern efficiently, effectively, and responsibly in an age of political corruption and crises in public finance. Providing a comprehensive, accessible and humorous introduction to the field of Public Administration, this text is designed specifically for those with little to no background in the field. Now in its 13th edition, this beloved book includes: Engaging, timely new sections designed to make students think, such as'Why Are So Many Leaders Losers?'and'Even Terrorists Like Good Government'Comparisons throughout of the challenges and opportunities found in the nonprofit sector vs. the public sector (sections such as'The Dissatisfied Bureaucrat, the Satisfied Nonprofit Professional?') Extensive new material on e-governance, performance management, HRM, intersectoral and intergovernmental administration, government contracting, public budgeting, and ethics. The 13th edition is complete with an Instructor's Manual, Testbank, and PowerPoint slides for instructors, as well as Learning Objectives and Self-test Questions for students, making it the ideal primer for public administration/management, public affairs, and nonprofit management courses.

This volume brings together contributions by eleven noted specialists on peace and security issues in the Caribbean. All chapters are based on recent research on the radically transformed regional situation in the post Cold-War context. Particular emphasis is placed on the formulation of security policies by the most relevant security actors, including both external powers present in the region, independent states and subregional groupings. This discussion is placed in the framework of post Cold-War security outlooks which focus on'non-traditional'threats, mainly drugs and illegal migration.

This publication contributes to a discussion about the future of public employment and HR policies in the context of a changing statehood and new financial pressures. It presents comparative quantitative and qualitative data in the field of public employment and human resources management. These data were collected through the OECD «2015 Survey on Managing Budgeting Constraints: Implications for HRM and Employment in Central Public Administration». This book provides an improved understanding of the broad reform trends that have affected public employment and human resources management across OECD member countries since the 2008 financial crisis. It challenges many popular assumptions, increasingly puts into question traditional characteristics of public administration systems and provides answers as to many outcomes of HR reforms.

Updated in its 12th edition, Public Administration and Public Affairs shows readers how to govern efficiently, effectively, and responsibly in an age of political corruption and crises in public finance. With a continuing and corroding crisis occurring, as well as greater governance by nonprofit organizations and private contractors, it is vital that readers are given the skills and tools to lead in such an environment. Using easy-to-understand metaphors and an accessible writing style, Public Administration and Public Affairs shows its readers how to govern better, preparing them for a career in public administration.

Many students develop misinformed opinions about the American electoral process. Conventional Wisdom and American Elections: Exploding Myths and Misconceptions debunks some of the more common misunderstandings that have arisen about the electoral process in the past few decades. This book engages students in elections and politics and teaches them to evaluate information like a political scientist. The third edition looks forward to the 2016 election with new, more contemporary myths addressed and a new chapter on voter fraud and identification.

This volume explores political culture, especially the catastrophic elements of the global social order emerging in the twenty-first century. By emphasizing the texture of political action, the book theorizes how social context becomes evident on the surface of events and analyzes the performative dimensions of political experience. The attention to catastrophe allows for an understanding of how ordinary people contend with normal system operation once it is indistinguishable from system breakdown. Through an array of case studies, the book provides an account of change as it is experienced, negotiated, and resisted in specific settings that define a society's capacity for political action.

Cities, counties, school districts and other local governments have suffered a long-lasting period of fiscal challenges since the beginning of the Great Recession. Metropolitan governments continue to adjust to the'new normal'of sharply lower property values, consumer sales, and personal income. Contributors to this volume include elected officials, academics, key people in city administrations, and other nationally recognized experts who discuss solutions to the urban problems created by the Great Recession. Metropolitan Resilience in a Time of Economic Turmoil looks at the capacity of local governments to mobilize resources efficiently and effectively, as well as the overall effects of the long-term economic downturn on quality of life. Introducing the reader to the fiscal effects of the Great Recession on cities, the book examines the initial fraying and subsequent mending of the social safety net, the opportunities for pursuing economic development strategies, the challenges of inter-jurisdictional cooperation, and the legacy costs of pension liabilities and infrastructure decay. Contributors are Phil Ashton, Raphael Bostic, Richard Feiock, Rachel A. Gordon, Rebecca Hendrick, Geoffrey J.D. Hewings, David Merriman, Richard Nathan, Michael A. Pagano, Breeze Richardson, Annette Steinacker, Nik Theodore, Rachel Weber, and Margaret Weir.

A stirring and sobering diagnosis of the challenges that confront anyone laboring to renew America's tradition of ordered liberty. Classicist Bruce Thornton's Plagues of the Mind is a forceful vindication of the West's tradition of rational, critical inquiry—a legacy now largely jettisoned in favor of a host of new deities, environmentalism, feminism, primitivism, New Age, and the cult of the therapeutic among them.

The British created a system wherein the social identity of civil servants clearly influenced their position on official matters. This privileged class set the tone for major policy decisions affecting all members of society. Savage addresses this social construction of power by analyzing the social origins and career patterns of higher-level civil servants as a backdrop for investigating the way four different social service ministries formulated policies between the two World Wars: the Board of Education, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Labour, and the Ministry of Health.

Offers full coverage of Native American athletes and athletics from historical, cultual and indigenous perspectives, from before European intervention to the 21st century. There are entries devoted to broader cultural themes, and how these affect and are affected by the sport.

Blahous contends that Social Security is ill-equipped to withstand the effects of an aging population and will impose excessive tax burdens upon future Americans unless its course is changed. Far from a doomsday tract, however, the book provides instances of proposals that would satisfactorily avert this course, if only the political will is mustered to implement them. Blahous argues for the program developed by the National Commission on Retirement Policy, but also offers positive descriptions of plausible alternatives as well as unsparing criticism of those who would cook the books in defense of either current law or high-cost alternatives. Reforming Social Security is sure to disturb ideologues from all parts of the political spectrum, because of its frank willingness to expose the costs of different approaches as well as the self-interest so often pursued by interest groups, political actors, and Social Security experts. An important analysis for the general public as well as policy makers and others concerned with social security issues.

'Woven through this text is the unifying theme that American politics represents “conflict and compromise,” in direct opposition to the increasingly commonly held view that all politics is dirty and all politicians are crooks. By presenting a balance of essential factual content with a broad assessment of system dynamics and their policy effects, the authors provide an accessible yet sophisticated overview of American politics. Features: Coherent theme of “conflict versus compromise” in the American political system Consistent examination of American history for institutional development Emphasis on the positive role of citizenship in shaping good government Each chapter is accompanied by primary source readings Concise 12 chapter format'

Pioneering evidence is presented in this book to support the effectiveness of peer counseling for substance abuse treatment of pregnant women and their families. The introduction by Barry R. Sherman describes his personal experience as a behavioral scientist doing work in a culture other than his own. A comprehensive overview of the crack epidemic and its impact on women is followed by an up-to-date account of acupuncture in addiction treatment. The authors use the theory and principles of social learning to justify the peer counselor model known as SISTERS. Chapters include discussions of conducting culturally competent research, development and validation of the Abstinence Self-Efficacy Scale (ASES) and the Traumatic Life Events (TLE) Inventory, as well as the social support systems of drug-dependent women. Both quantitative and qualitative methods are used to evaluate program impact. A urine toxicology index of sobriety as well as empirical measures of psychosocial functioning and client satisfaction demonstrate sufficient success and cost-effectiveness of the program to warrant serious support by health care providers and insurance companies.

Providing overviews of states and sectors, classes and companies in the new international division of labour, this series treats polity-economy dialectics at global, regional and national levels. This volume in the series looks at the complexities of structural adjustment in Africa.