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Local Politics: A Practical Guide to Governing at the Grassroots, Second Edition
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Comments/Reviews
Description: Unlike most competing texts that are densely written and heavily theoretical, with little flavor of political life, this book is a readable, jargon-free introduction to real-life local politics for today's students. While it encompasses local government and politics in cities and towns across America, Local Politics: A Practical Guide to Governing at the Grassroots gives special attention to the politics of suburbia, where many students live, and encourages them to become engaged in their own communities. The book is also distinguished by its strong emphasis on nuts-and-bolts practical politics. It provides focused discussion of institutions, roles, and personalities as well as the dynamic environment of local politics (demographics, immigration, globalization, etc.) and major policy issues (budgets, land use, transportation, education, etc.).
Other texts treat communities as abstractions and readers as passive observers. Local Politics: A Practical Guide to Governing at the Grassroots is designed to inspire civic engagement as well as understanding. It features "In Your Community" research projects for students in every chapter along with informative tables, clear charts, essential terms, and guides to useful websites.
Selected Contents:
List of Tables and Figures
Preface
1. Introduction to the Study of Local Politics: Why We Bother and How We Go About It
Part I. The Environment of Local Politics: Characteristics of Urban Places
2. The Environment of Local Politics: The Geographic, Demographic, and Economic Contexts
3. The Evolution of Urban Places: Where People Live and Why
4 The Intergovernmental Environment of Local Politics: Creatures of the States and Supplicants of the Federal Government
Part II. Official Decision-Makers: Inside City Hall
5. Forms of Government: From Weak Mayors and Machines to the Beginnings of Reform
6. Reform Politics: The City Manager Form of Government and Beyond
7. Legislators and Executives: The Balance of Power
8. Bureaucracy: The Rest of the Iceberg
Part III. Outside City Hall: Elections, Influence, and Power
9. Elections and Campaigns: The Voters (and the Media) Have Their Say
10. Interest Groups in Local Politics: Types, Tactics, and Targets
11. Community Power Structures: Official and Unofficial Decision Makers
Part IV. Budget Politics, Public Policy, and Regional Government
12. Budget Politics: The Getting and Spending of Money
13. Politics and Public Policy: Some Local Issues and Battles
14. Metropolitan Politics: The Future of Local Government
Index
About the Authors
Comment(s): " Local Politics is the best textbook available today for courses on local government. Demonstrating knowledge of the scholarly literature, it has great content. It s also written in a manner accessible to students and has great resources such as glossaries, key terms, listings of related Internet sites, and practical research exercises." -- Michael Coulter, Grove City College
"In a field where most of the textbooks focus on 'urban politics,' this is a rarity -- a book focused on how governing happens at the local level, whether urban, suburban, or rural. I have found that perspective to be very useful and very accessible to my students. The book does an excellent job of providing important context for local politics from the very beginning, and it is very helpful in connecting students with real world issues in local government. In many ways the strongest thing is that the book is truly about local politics when so many others are combined state and local politics texts, or are specifically focused on cities and urban government rather than local politics broadly defined." -- David Redlawsk, University of Iowa
Review(s): ...a compelling work designed to encourage participation at the grassroots. ...A work that is a must-read, not only for students of American government but for the general citizenry as well. ...The authors have made a contribution to applied political science that ranks with the works of Paul P. Van Riper, Frank R. Kent, and Mark R. Warner. Perspetives on Political Science
    
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