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Presidential Policymaking: An End-of-Century Assessment
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Comments/Reviews
Description: This book offers a comprehensive overview of the president's policy-making role and the way this role structures the president's interaction with other political actors. The framework is laid out in Norman C. Thomas's foreword to the book and in Steven A. Shull's and James P. Pfiffner's contributions to Part I on presidential policy making. Part II, on public opinion and the media, interest groups, political parties, and elections, features chapters by Jeffrey E. Cohen and Ken Collier, Joseph A. Pika, Sidney M. Milkus, Lyn Ragsdale and Jerrold Rusk. In Part III, on intragovernmental relations, George C. Edwards III writes on Congress, Shirley A. Warshaw on staff, Richard W. Waterman on the bureaucracy, and Jeffrey A. Segal and Robert Howard on relations with the court. Part IV covers policy areas, with chapters by Paul J. Quirk and Bruce Nesmith on domestic policy, Lance T. LeLoup on budget policy, James E. Anderson on economic policy, and Louis Fisher on foreign and defense policy. In the concluding section of the book, Mary E. Stuckey discusses the issue of accountability and Bert A. Rockman and Colin Campbell write on policy leadership.
With its broad coverage and contributions by leading presidency scholars, this book is an excellent choice for upper-division political science courses on American politics.
Selected Contents:
I. Nature of Presidential Policymaking
1. Presidential Policymaking: An Introduction, Steven A. Shull
2. Presidential Constraints and Transitions, James P. Pfiffner
II. Presidential Relations With Those Outside Government
3. Public Opinion: Reconceptualizing Going Public, Jeffrey E. Cohen and Ken Collier
4. Interest Groups: A Doubly Dynamic Relationship, Joseph A. Pika
5. Political Parties and Divided Democracy, Sidney M. Milkis
6. Elections and Presidential Policymaking, Lyn Ragsdale and Jerrold Rusk
III. Presidential Relations With Those Inside Government
7. Evaluating Clinton's Performance in Congress, George C. Edwards III
8. Staffing Patterns in the Modern White House, Shirley A. Warshaw
9. Bureaucratic Views of the President, Richard W. Waterman
10. Justices and Presidents, Jeffrey A. Segal and Robert M. Howard
IV. Policy Areas and the Presidency
11. Domestic Policy: The General-Interest Presidency? Paul J. Quirk and Bruce Nesmith
12. Budget Policy Transformations, Lance T. LeLoup
13. Economic Policy: Comparative Advisory Arrangements, James E. Anderson
14. Foreign and Defense Policy, Louis Fisher
V. Conclusion
15. Policy, Power, and Accountability, Mary E. Stuckey
16. Comparing Policy Leadership, Colin Campbell and Bert A. Rockman
Comment(s): "The students and I liked it. The readings fit well with the way I approached the course. The articles on bureaucracy we found a bit heavy on the quantitative analysis." -- Bob Thomas, Beaver College
Review(s): Some of the leading scholars on the presidency offer insights on the institution. ... The focus is on the modern presidency, from FDR to Clinton, but all of the articles deal extensively with the Clinton administration. ... The articles treat the full range of subjects usually associated with the presidency--interest groups, parties, Congress, the bureaucracy--and the opening and concluding essays provide cohesion. This excellent collection should be in all academic and large public libraries. Library Journal
A welcome addition to the short list of edited volumes appropriate for undergraduate courses with an institutional focus on the presidency. ... Deserves a place in the collection of every serious student of the presidency. Perspectives on Political Science
Unlike many collections of readings, this one is well written, thoughtfully presented, and even more remarkably, nicely woven together. ... This strong, thoughtfully presented collection offers significant suggestions for further research and reflection. Bravo! Recommended. Choice
The essays in this collection are cogent, easy to read and well researched. ... Presidential Policymaking is an excellent source book for undergraduate and graduate courses on the presidency or general American government courses. It should also be an essential acquisition for general library collections. Political Studies
    
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