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In 1887, the centennial year of the American Constitution, Woodrow Wilson wrote that "it is getting to be harder to run a constitution than to fram one." The context for Wilson''s comment was an essay calling for sound principles of administration that would enable government officials to "run" a constitution well. Wilson and his fellow civil-service reformers had a profound influence on the development of American administrative institutions. Unfortunately, the reformers paid more attention to the exigencies of running a constitution than to the Constitution itself. They and their intellectual progeny developed a theory of administration that was at odds with the theory of the Constitution. As a result, we find ourselves living today in what we often call an "administrative state"--a state seemingly bereft of legitimating principles grounded in the political thought of the framers of the Constitution.In To Run a Constitution, John A. Rohr takes seriously two basic premises: d Tocqueville''s belief that citizens are corrupted by ebeying powers they believe to be illegitimate, and the view that, despite present political sentiment, the administrative state is here to stay. The book focuses on the important question of whether the administrative state, an abiding presence in American politics, can be justified in terms of the American constitutional tradition.In addressing this question, Rohr goes beyond considerations of case law to examine the principles of the Constitution both at its founding and in its subsequent development. Reying on the normative character of political "foundings," Rohr analyzes three significant founding periods: 1) the founding of the Republic, 1787-1795; 2) the foundin of public administration, 1883-1899; and 3) the founding of the administrative state, 1933-1941. He judges the last two foundings by the first in developing his argument that the modern administrative state can be justified in terms of the kind of government the framers of the Constitution envisaged.On the eve of the bicentennial of the Constitution, Rohr''s argument advances a new, normative theory of public administration that is intended to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States," in accordance with the oath of office taken by public administrators. It is critical reading for scholars in the fields of public administration, political science, and constitutional studies.

If you think your job is hopelessly difficult, you may be right. Particularly if your job is public administration. Those who study or practice public management know full well the difficulties faced by administrators of complex bureaucratic systems. What they don't know is why some jobs in the public sector are harder than others and how good managers cope with those jobs. Drawing on leadership theory and social psychology, Erwin Hargrove and John Glidewell provide the first systematic analysis of the factors that determine the inherent difficulty of public management jobs and of the coping strategies employed by successful managers. To test their argument, Hargrove and Glidewell focus on those jobs fraught with extreme difficulties--"impossible" jobs. What differentiates impossible from possible jobs are (1) the publicly perceived legitimacy of the commissioner's clientele; (2) the intensity of the conflict among the agency's constituencies; (3) the public's confidence in the authority of the commissioner's profession; and (4) the strength of the agency's "myth," or long-term, idealistic goal. Hargrove and Glidewell flesh out their analysis with six case studies that focus on the roles played by leaders of specific agencies. Each essay summarizes the institutional strengths and weaknesses, specifies what makes the job impossible, and then compares the skills and strategies that incumbents have employed in coping with such jobs. Readers will come away with a thorough understanding of the conflicting social, psychological, and political forces that act on commissioners in impossible jobs.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 has been hailed as a triumph for civil rights and as a catalyst for the election of minorities to public office in both the Deep South and the urban North. This text examines its effect on local governance over forty years in Dallas.

"Empowering the White House" examines how Richard Nixon entered the Oval Office in 1969 and managed to change it in a way that augmented the power of presidency and continues to influence into the 21st century how his successors have governed.

Offering a case study of how the American political system operated during the 1990s and of the criminal factors underpinning the political process, this book aims to expand our understanding of a particular constitutional crisis and a dynamic that still prevails in congressional politics.

Why do most neighbourhoods in the United States continue to be racially divided? In this work, author Mara Sidney offers a fresh explanation for the persistent colour lines in America's cities by showing how weak national policy has silenced and splintered grassroots activists.

With the collapse of national health care reform efforts in the early 1990s, states emerged as a focal point for new policy and administrative developments in US health care. This work provides an overview of key issues facing states as they have responded to this challenge.

An examination of the fundamental role of politics in funding American public schools. Kenneth Wong underscores constitutional stalemate and the lack of political will to act as important factors that affect legislative deadlock in school finance reform.

This text encourages civil servants to reflect on specific constitutional principles and events and learn to apply them to the decisions they make. It includes 20 articles which seek to legitimate public service by grounding its ethics in constitutional practice.

This text examines the factors that shape, reinforce or undermine reform efforts in urban education. It proposes that the barrier to reform can only be overcome by understanding how schools fit into the broader political contexts of their cities.

This text examines the factors that shape, reinforce or undermine reform efforts in urban education. It proposes that the barrier to reform can only be overcome by understanding how schools fit into the broader political contexts of their cities.

This study provides a history of presidential reorganization in the 20th century, from Theodore Roosevelt to Bill Clinton. The author highlights the century-long efforts of presidents to consolidate and expand their roles and powers within American government.

This text examines the origins, legitimacy and limitations of public administration from the perspective of the American Founders' thought. It shows that these men advocated an energetic public administration as an essential component of government.

This analysis of urban neighbourhoods in the United States from 1960 to 1995 presents 15 original essays by scholars of urban planning and development. Together they show how urban neighbourhoods can and must be preserved as economic, cultural and political centres.

This study of how the American Congress communicates shows that although at any one time there are relatively few in Congress undertaking extensive searches for information, the collective base of information generated by all searches is unexpectedly comprehensive. Practical examples are included.

The specter of a plant closing casts a long shadow over a city. During the last fifteen years plant closings and mass layoffs have eliminated about 15 million factory jobs and, as a result, brought economic devastation to numerous plant-dependent cities.

This edition includes three chapters that add analysis and perspective to debates surrounding the political and administrative change in less-developed countries, the deficiencies of public administration theory, and the ways in which reform begets further reform.

"No other book combines so much of modern military history with so rich an exploration of related factors in industry, finance, education, and technology, as well as statecraft. Combining strands of history from all these areas, Pearton makes an unusually complete and cogent case for the breakdown of traditional distinctions between the civil and the military, and even between war and peace. This is an excellent work of military and economic history."--Russell F. Weigley, author of The American Way of War. "Pearton's historical approach adds needed depth and perspective to many contemporary discussions of the arms problem. . . . This is an illuminating and incisive inquiry into a phenomenon of unquestioned importance."--International Affairs.

In this study of clergy and politics, five social scientists tell how and why the technological orthodoxy and modernism that divides American Protestants into two camps increasingly correlates with today's political climate.

An overview of civil rights enforcement which reveals the political realities and national priorities that shaped it; the moral, practical, and political forces that have influenced it; and the roles of the federal government, executive branch, and Attorney General in implementing it.

Recalling Tocqueville's exhortation for the French to ""look to America"" for a better understanding of their own government, this book reveals how much can be learned about American constitutionalism from a close study of French governance.

A study of the actual effect of the use of the veto, focusing on those elements of the policy-making process that influence presidential decisions on vetoes. Watson's analysis of presidential vetoes ranges from Franklin Roosevelt to Jimmy Carter.

A critical analysis of the statewide initiative process in the United States, challenging readers to look beyond populist rhetoric and face political reality. Through prose, anecdotes and historical context, Richard Ellis seeks to reveal the ""dark side"" of direct democracy.

This volume demonstrates that the democratic purposes of education are not outmoded ideas but can continue to be driving forces in public education. It establishes the intellectual foundation for revitalizing US schools and offers ideas for how the education process can be made more democratic.

Even when effective treatments become available, efforts to control disease often fall short. Written to improve the prospects for managing AIDS, this work draws on previous large-scale public health initiatives to show how management effectiveness can meet threats to public health.

Provides a balanced, in-depth analysis of how No Child Left Behind (NCLB) became law. Using education as a case study of national policymaking, the author shows how the struggle to define the federal role in school reform took center stage in debates over the appropriate role of the government in promoting opportunity and social welfare.

Many of the basic issues of political science have been addressed by pluralist theory, which focuses on the competing interests of a democratic polity, their organization, and their influence on policy. Andrew McFarland shows that this approach still provides a promising foundation for understanding the American political process.

In twelve essays, influential scholars in political science explore the meaning of political leadership from the kaleidoscopic perspectives of the leaders, institutions, goals, procedures, problems, and traditions involved. The approaches, as varied as the subject itself, coalesce around the central question of how leaders interact with, transform, or are controlled by the organizations they lead.

While environmental advocacy groups have become bigger in recent years, so have the corporate interests that compete with them for the attention of public and politicians. This study looks at environmental advocacy that focuses on contemporary lobbying, electioneering and agenda setting.

The authors of this work contend that it is essential for all important actors in an urban community to join together in a shared vision of what is wrong in their schools and how to fix it, and to pursue that vision strongly and systematically over a long time.