Readings and Cases in State and Local Politics

by Clucas, Richard A.

• ISBN13: 9780618371327
• ISBN10: 061837132X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-03-23
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing

Summary

This reader is designed to illustrate specific themes within government.Readings and Casesjuxtaposes selected texts from scholarly literature with case studies from popular publications to first define the concept at hand, then to illustrate how the concept is applied in contemporary society. Each of the sixteen chapters follows a user-friendly structure. First, a major topic within the study of state and local politics is introduced, followed by two readings culled from outside sources, and concluding with a concise summary highlighting the salient points introduced. The result is one text that examines major themes in both a classic and contemporary context. Chapter introductions present a brief statement from the author that explains the connection between the reading and case study. Headnotes introduce each reading and indicate how the selection relates to the chapter's overall theme. Chapter review questions and suggestions for further reading are featured in the end-of-chapter pedagogy. A topic correlation chart is included to help instructors structure their course and assign appropriate readings.

Table of Contents

Note: Each reading and case study includes an Introduction, and each chapter concludes with Review Questions, Key Terms, Suggestions for Further Readings, and Related Web Sites

The Changing Position of State Government: The Concept of Resurgence

Governance and the Changing American States

Paradise Lost: California's Experience, America's Future

Understanding Differences Across the States: The Concept of Political Culture

The Political Subcultures of the United States

American Hayride

Redistributing Power Among Governments: The Concept of Devolution

The Devolution Tortoise and the Centralization Hare

The Role of "Home" in Homeland Security

State Constitutions: The Concept of Distinctiveness

The Distinctiveness of State Constitutionalism

Alabama Constitution at Heart of Heated Controversy, Constitutional Reform: Who's in this Fight and Why?

Mike Goens Some See Amendment 328 as Proof that Constitutional Reform Can Happen Here

Political Participation: The Concept of Civic Engagement

Thinking about Social Change in America

A Theology of Organizing: From Alinsky to the Modern IAF

Political Parties and Elections: The Concept of Candidate-Centered Campaigns

Thinking About Politicians

The Body Politic Registers a Protest

Interest Representation: The Concept of Group Power

Interest Group Power in the Fifty States: Trends Since the Late 1970s

The Campaign for the Unpaid Wages Prohibition Act

State Legislatures: The Concept of Professionalism

The Evolution of the State Legislature: Institutional Change and Legislative Careers

The Sick Legislature Syndrome, Charles Mahtesian Is Professionalization a Pathogen? Peverill Squire

Governors: The Concept of Gubernatorial Success

Understanding Gubernatorial Behavior: A Framework for Analysis

In Search of George

State and Local Bureaucracies: The Concept of Privatization

The Urge to Privatize: From the Bureaucratic State to the Contract State

Denver

State Courts: The Concept of the New Judicial Federalism

The Third Stage of New Judicial Federalism

Common Benefits

Local Government: The Concept of the Model City Charter

How American City Governments Have Changed: The Evolution of the Model City Charter

Are City Councils a Relic of the Past?

Urban Government: The Concept of New Regionalism

Regionalisms Old and New, Peter Dreier

Portland: A Regionalized Politics Shapes Growth

State Finances: The Concept of Budgeting

Balance of Power: The Case of the Budget

California in Crisis

Education: The Concept of School Reform

The Challenge of Change in Complex Policy Subsystems

Pittsburgh's Public Schools: A Fragile Balance of Leadership and Institution Building

Social Welfare: The Concepts of Laboratories of Democracy and Race to the Bottom

Making Something Out of Nothing: Welfare Reform and a New Race to the Bottom

Getting Opal Caples to Work

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