System Under Stress Homeland Security And American Politics

Listen to Donald Kettl on his interview from &BAD:"Homeland Security Inside &BAD:& Out&BAD:" Click Here to ListenDonald Kettl InterviewInterview from 'Homeland Security Inside and Out' which airs on KAMU. Interview air date: May 20, 2008. WINNER OF THE LOUIS BROWNLOW BOOK AWARD!The massive bureaucratic reorganization under the Department of Homeland Security was a response to the system-wide coordination problems brought to light on 9/11. Better planning, new leadership, and far-reaching reform were to demonstrate that the U.S. had learned its lessons well, that it would be prepared for the next attack or disaster. But the catastrophic response to Hurricane Katrina unequivocally showed how this restructuring has not brought about the kinds of long term policy changes that are necessary to deal effectively and efficiently with threats&BAD:—whether manmade or natural.Is the system permanently broken? Should FEMA be removed from DHS or abolished altogether? Donald Kettl, in this thoroughly updated second edition, takes a hard look at the most recent stress on the system. He explores how the 9/11 Commission forever changed public discourse on the topic as well as discusses the ways in which FEMA might be reformed. The country faces solvable problems, he argues, yet is in dire need of new leadership at every level. In his brief, gripping narrative, Kettl assesses how well the U.S. political system responds under extraordinary pressure and asks if the focus will continue to be on fighting the last war. There is small chance the catastrophe that lies ahead will replicate the last one. Is the government ready to face that next challenge?

In System under Stress, The Challenge to 21st Century Democracy, Third Edition, Donald F. Kettl looks at the latest stress to hit the system—the financial crisis of 2008. In his brief, gripping narrative, Kettl assesses how well the U.S. political system responds under extraordinary pressure—from 9/11, to Hurricane Katrina, to the Great Recession— and asks if the government is ready to face that next challenge. A well-known scholar, commentator, and writer in the areas of federalism and governance, Kettl asks the hard questions, makes a credible and persuasive argument, and crafts a readable case study that is fascinating and thought-provoking.

A Century Foundation report.

The authors of this book contend that the civil service system, which was devised to create a uniform process for recruiting high-quality workers to government, is no longer uniform or a system. Nor does it help government find and retain the workers it needs to build a government that works. The current civil service system was designed for a government in which federal agencies directly delivered most public services. But over the last generation, privatization and devolution have increased the number and importance of government's partnerships with private companies, nonprofit organizations, and state and local governments. Government workers today spend much of their time managing these partnerships, not delivering services, and this trend will only accelerate in the future. The authors contend that the current system poorly develops government workers who can effectively manage these partnerships, resulting too often in a gap between promise and performance. This short, lively, and bipartisan volume, authored by the nation's leading experts on government management, describes what the government of the future will look like, what it will need to work well, and how in particular the nation can build the next generation of workers required to lead it.

Politics of the Administrative Process shows how efficient public administration requires a delicate balance—the bureaucracy must be powerful enough to be effective, but also accountable to elected officials and citizens. Author Don Kettl gives students a realistic, relevant, and well-researched view of the field in this reader–friendly best seller. With its engaging vignettes, rich examples and a unique focus on policymaking and politics, the Seventh Edition continues its strong emphasis on politics, accountability, and performance. This new edition has been thoroughly updated with new scholarship, data, events, and case studies, giving students multiple opportunities to apply ideas and analysis as they read.

Politics of the Administrative Process shows how efficient public administration requires a delicate balance—the bureaucracy must be powerful enough to be effective, but also accountable to elected officials and citizens. Author Don Kettl gives students a realistic, relevant, and well-researched view of the field in this reader–friendly best seller. With its engaging vignettes, rich examples and a unique focus on policymaking and politics, the Seventh Edition continues its strong emphasis on politics, accountability, and performance. This new edition has been thoroughly updated with new scholarship, data, events, and case studies, giving students multiple opportunities to apply ideas and analysis as they read.

Over the last quarter century, governments around the world have launched ambitious efforts to reform how they manage their programs. Citizens have demanded smaller, cheaper, more effective governments. They have also asked for more programs and better services. To resolve this paradox, governments have experimented with scores of ideas to be more productive, improve performance, and reduce costs. In this new edition of T he Global Public Management Revolution, Donald F. Kettl charts the basic models of reform that are being employed worldwide. Reviewing the standard strategies and tactics behind these reforms, Kettl identifies six common core ideas: the search for greater productivity; more public reliance on private markets; a stronger orientation toward service; more decentralization from national to subnational governments; increased capacity to devise and track public policy; and tactics to enhance accountability for results. Kettl predicts that reform and reinvention will likely become mantras for governments of all stripes. Ultimately, this strategy means coupling the reform impulse with governance—government's increasingly important relationship with civil society and the institutions that shape modern life.

Buy all five books together and SAVE! Order ISBN 978-0-87289-902-5. A note from editor Don Kettl... Public affairs and policy administration sit at a crossroads. A century of tradition in theory and practice are under fierce attack. Reformers argue the need to "reinvent" government and free its managers from dysfunctional processes and structures. Some theorists debate whether the dominant model-hierarchical bureaucracy controlled by authority-still describes how bureaucracies can-or should-operate. Other theorists seek formal models, driven by game theory, to provide more rigor. Everyone, in government and out, worries that government simply does not perform well. These battles frame an important paradox. Courses on public affairs and public administration are staples in every college and university, yet text materials often fail to capture the big battles in the field or excite students. Public managers feel that advice from academics does not adequately address or solve the challenges they face. CQ Press offers a solution to this problem. With a new series of brief books which take on the big issues and presents them in a lively and engaging fashion scholars, students, and practitioners alike will have a new compass to guide them through the fundamental debates reshaping the field. The books will connect policy areas to important administrative issues. They will examine emerging issues like performance management and information technology, and they will also explore lasting puzzles like federalism and budget reform. These books will probe for the story-behind-the-theory. They will provide lively examples of how these emerging processes might-or might not-reshape governance. -Don Kettl, series editor TITLES IN THIS SERIES The Ethics of Dissent: Managing Guerrilla Government Rosemary O'Leary December 2005 / ISBN 978-1-933116-60-0 System Under Stress: Homeland Security and American Politics Second Edition Donald F. Kettl December 2006 / ISBN 978-0-87289-333-7 Governing by Contract: Challenges and Opportunities for Public Managers Phillip J. Cooper July 2002 / ISBN 978-1-56802-620-6 Working with Culture: The Way the Job Gets Done in Public Programs Anne M. Khademian March 2002 / ISBN 978-1-56802-687-9 The Accountable Juggler: The Art of Leadership in a Federal Agency Beryl Radin January 2002 / ISBN 978-1-56802-643-5 Top of page

A good deal has been done to improve the safety of Americans on their own soil since the attacks of September 11, 2001. Yet there have been numerous setbacks. The Bush administration and Congress wasted at least six months in 2002 due to partisan disagreement over a new budget for homeland security, and as one consequence, resources were slow to reach first responders across the country. Most improvements in homeland security have focused on "refighting the last war"—improving defenses against attacks similar to those the country has already suffered. Not enough has been done to anticipate possible new kinds of terrorist actions. Policymakers have also focused too much attention on the creation of a department of homeland security—rather than identifying and addressing the kinds of threats to which the country remains vulnerable. While the creation of a cabinet-level agency focusing on homeland security may have merit, the authors of this study argue that the department will not, in and of itself, make Americans safer. To the contrary, the complexity of merging so many disparate agencies threatens to distract Congress and the administration from other, more urgent security efforts. This second edition of Protecting the American Homeland urges policymakers to focus on filling key gaps that remain in the current homeland security effort: identifying better protection for private infrastructure; using information technology to share intelligence and more effectively "connect the dots" that could hold hints to possible terrorist tactics; expanding the capacities of the Coast Guard and Customs Service, as well as airline transportation security; dealing with the possible threat of surface-to-air missiles to airliners; and encouraging better coordination among intelligence agencies. While acknowledging the impossibility of preventing every possible type of terrorist violence, the authors recommend a more systematic approach to homeland security that focuses