B. Guy Peters

Examines and compares various forms of government in industrialized countries.

The Future of Governing

Arwin van Buuren

Jenny M. Lewis

The articles on which Chapters 4, 5 and 6 are based are available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. Design approaches to policy-making have gained increasing popularity among policy makers in recent years. First published as a special issue of Policy & Politics, this book presents original critical reflections on the value of design approaches and how they relate to the classical idea of public administration as a design science, with a new concluding chapter. Contributors consider the potential, challenges and applications of design approaches and distinguish between three methods currently characterising the discipline: design as optimisation, design as exploration and design as co-creation. Developing the dialogue around public administration as a design science, this collection explores how a more ‘designerly’ way of thinking can improve public administration and public policy.

The Added Value of Design Thinking for Public Administration and Public Policy

Policy-Making as Designing

Thought provoking perspectives on attempts to change government.

Lessons Learned

Comparative Administration Change

Institutional Theory in Political Science provides an in-depth analysis of contemporary institutional theory, an essential tool to understand the world of politics and government. Written by B. Guy Peters, a prominent expert in the field, the book argues that the new institutionalism comprises eight variations on the theme of institutional analysis. Through a series of questions, the author assesses the possibility of a unified theory within institutionalism and its potential as a paradigm for political science. This new edition incorporates the most recent developments in the research on the various institutionalisms. It also includes a new chapter that brings into the discussion themes of discursive politics and constructivism. Although the focus is on political science, attention is paid to institutionalism in other disciplines. Institutional Theory in Political Science, 3rd Edition, reflects the state of the field today while building on the foundations set in the previous editions. This unique work will be of value to anyone studying institutionalism, as well as political institutions, and public administration.

The New Institutionalism

Institutional Theory in Political Science

Brian W. Hogwood

Much has been written about how government works, but there has been little systematic analysis of how government does not work. This book analyses the whole range of public policy problems, drawing on insights from a range of academic disciplines, policy areas, and practical experience, with examples drawn from both the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The book is based on the novel concept of the analytical taxonomy of the pathologies of policy making. The use of this medical metaphor provides a framework for the categorization of the diseases of public policy and contributes to an understanding of the nature of policy dysfunctions and their treatment. The analogy helps to organize the material: it does not govern it. The pathologies discussed in the book are grouped into seven categories: congenital disorders, organizational pathologies, information pathologies, delusions, obesity, problems of budgeting, and terminal illness. The possibilities for treating some of these pathologies are then discussed and attention is drawn to the possible pathological consequences of the treatments themselves. Finally, the potential and deficiencies of a number of factors for diagnosing and treating policy pathologies are reviewed.

The Pathology of Public Policy

This book examines contemporary public administration and its historical roots, and how those traditions continue to influence administrative behaviour.

Understanding the Roots of Contemporary Administrative Behavior

Administrative Traditions

Voting and elections may often be cited as the most entertaining aspect of political theatre, however, it is the arena of public policy that has the most direct impact on the lives of the citizenry. And as we have seen played out in recent debates over healthcare reform, policy changes can be dramatic, sweeping, and often hotly contested. Known for providing a trusted and comprehensive overview of the policy process, B. Guy Peters returns with the ninth edition of American Public Policy: Promise and Performance. Beyond walking students through the governmental structures and policy-making procedures, Peters efficiently covers a wide swath of policy areas, and then concludes with a look at both cost-benefit analysis and ethical analysis. Framed in context of the aftermath of the financial crisis and Great Recession, the ninth edition considers how policy has been impacted by persistent unemployment and growing income inequality. In addition, Peters discusses the strain on education budgets, increased oversight of financial activities, fiscal policies meant to stimulate the economy, and the political challenge of balancing the budget in light of increased public spending.

American Public Policy: Promise and Performance, 9th Edition

American Public Policy provides a comprehensive yet accessible overview of the landscape of public policy. This foundational text takes students through the governmental systems and core theories of policymaking before turning to in-depth exploration of key policy areas and tools of policy analysis. Important additions to this Tenth Edition include expanded discussions of policy instruments, the challenges for public policymakers presented by the continuing gridlock in Washington, the Affordable Care Act, higher education funding, reproductive rights, and gay rights. New coverage of fracking controversies, race and racial profiling, and the legalization of marijuana keeps students up to date with recent policy debates and issues.

Promise and Performance

American Public Policy

Jon Pierre

Examines the conceptual and theoretical problems in understanding governance.

Governance, Politics, and the State

Guy Peters

First published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Politics of Bureaucracy

Eckhard Schröter

Patrick von Maravic

The book explores one of the most topical issues of public bureaucracies worldwide: the relationship between the composition of the public sector workforce and the nature of the society it serves. Taking a genuinely comparative and analytical perspective, the authoritatively, yet accessibly written, country chapters show how salient the politics of representativeness have become in increasingly diverse societies. At the same time, the authors illustrate the wide variety of practice based on different political systems, administrative structures, and cultural settings.

Power, Legitimacy and Performance

Politics of Representative Bureaucracy

The Politics of Bureaucracy

Written by B. Guy Peters, a leading authority in the field, this comprehensive exploration of the political and policy making roles of public bureaucracies is now available in a fully revised seventh edition, offering extensive, well-documented comparative analysis of the effects of politics on bureaucracy. Updates to this edition include: All new coverage of public administration in Latin America and Africa, with special attention paid to the impact of New Public Management and other ideas for reform; An examination of the European Union and its effects on public policy and public administration in member countries, as well as an exploration of the EU as a particular type of bureaucracy; A renewed emphasis on coordination and the role of central agencies; A thorough assessment of 'internationalization' of bureaucracies and concerns with the role of international pressures on domestic governments and organizations in the public sector; Coverage of the wide-ranging impacts of the 2008 economic slowdown on public bureaucracies and public policies, and the varied success of governmental responses to the crisis. Drawing on evidence from a wide variety of political systems, The Politics of Bureaucracy, Seventh Edition, continues to be essential reading for all students of government, policy analysis, politics, and international relations.

An Introduction to Comparative Public Administration

Maurice Falk Professor of Government B Guy Peters, Professor

Professor of Political Science Jon Pierre

Adminstrative reform in most western democracies over the past couple of decades has been characterized by bringing in market-based concepts of public-service delivery. This book looks critically at administrative reform in a comparative perspective. The contributors - experts on administrative reform - assess its scope and objectives, and also the ways in which these reforms have impacted on the traditional roles of elective office and civil servants. This book will be an invaluable resource for students and academics in Politics and Public Administration, as well as for civil servants and experts on administrative reform.

Politicians, Bureaucrats and Administrative Reform

Colin Campbell

In recent years, Western bureaucracies have continued to expand, but are citizens better served? In this volume, sixteen contributors analyze the problems of government organization, both in individual cases and in a broader comparative context. Contributors: Joel D. Aberbach; Peter Aucoin; Richard A. Chapman; Michael G. Hansen; Peter Hennessy; Brian W. Hogwood; Mohammad Mohabbat Kahn; Ulrich Klöti; Charles H. Levine; Johan P. Olsen; Bert A. Rockman; Richard Rose; Norman C. Thomas; John Warhurst; and the editors.

Organizing Governance, Governing Organizations

Carlos Alba Tercedor

Conrado Ramos

This handbook presents contemporary research on public administration in Latin America. The first section explores the range of administrative systems in existence across the region. The second portion of the book discusses important topics such as public personnel management, accountability and policy coordination in Latin America.

The Emerald Handbook of Public Administration in Latin America

Patrick von Maravić

ÔThis volume confronts one of the most central issues in the study and practice of bureaucracy. Questions about representativeness of public institutions raises key issues about legitimacy, especially in contexts characterised by ethnic diversity and cleavages. Debates are shaped by normatively informed positions that contrasts those in favour of representativeness with those who point to limitations and side-effects. This volume offers a set of important contributions to these debates by linking the long-standing debates about representative bureaucracy with an impressive range of country studies. This volume is a fundamental contribution to the theme of representative bureaucracy.Õ Ð Martin Lodge, London School of Economics, UK The book explores one of the most topical issues of public bureaucracies worldwide: the relationship between the composition of the public sector workforce and the nature of the society it serves. Taking a comparative and analytical perspective, the authoritatively, yet accessibly written, country chapters show how salient the politics of representativeness have become in increasingly diverse societies. At the same time, they illustrate the wide variety of practice based on different political systems, administrative structures, and cultural settings. Providing comprehensive up-to-date information and analysis, these studies will interest scholars and practitioners alike, from comparative public administration and management, government, public policy, and diversity studies.

Country Profiles from the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia

Representative Bureaucracy in Action

"Peters provides the most comprehensive discussion available of the problem of policy coordination in the public sector. He begins by observing that governments typically react to policy problems by embracing specialization, which tends to undermine efforts to deliver better coordinated policies. Drawing upon a variety of perspectives, both theoretical and multinational, he tackles this conundrum by focusing on the concept of horizontal management. His conceptual analysis is supplemented by four case studies of public sector coordination (Homeland Security in the U.S., child protection in the U.K., policymaking in Finland, and the European Union). Finding the appropriate balance between specialization and coordination, Peters concludes, is a knotty problem yet essential to the delivery of the most effective policies"--

The Politics of Public Sector Coordination

Pursuing Horizontal Management

Public policy can be considered a design science. It involves identifying relevant problems, selecting instruments to address the problem, developing institutions for managing the intervention, and creating means of assessing the design. Policy design has become an increasingly challenging task, given the emergence of numerous ‘wicked’ and complex problems. Much of policy design has adopted a technocratic and engineering approach, but there is an emerging literature that builds on a more collaborative and prospective approach to design. This book will discuss these issues in policy design and present alternative approaches to design.

B. Guy Peters

Books

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