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Neil Puffett meets Alan Wood, the new president of the ADCS

World Policy Journal speaks with Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, a biochemist who became the first female president of Mauritius. She discusses the importance of integrating science into politics, what prevents women from rising into positions of power, and how her country pulled off its "economic miracle."

Last year, during the battle for the Democratic Party nomination, the rivals tried to keep both race and gender out of the campaign. After the conventions, with the entrance of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin into the mix, the conversation was bound to change. At this writing in early fall, we couldn't know how American voters would feel about an African American president, but we had a little more information about their response to a woman candidate for the executive branch. Palin touched a chord across the country. She's a "hockey Mom," a pit bull with lipstick, a "regular gal," and a woman with a family scene familiar to many Americans. A lot of voters identified with her: her political brashness and success, her right-wing views, and her domestic story. But how do Americans feel about a woman in the top job? Barack Obama's contest with Hillary Clinton was a battle for the presidential nomination in one party, and the more liberal one at that. And even in that party there was plenty of anti-feminism during the primary contest. Maybe Americans can only make an exception for a female candidate who stands on the reactionary edge of our politics. But we still may not know what America thinks about a woman as president.

This article assesses the presidency of Taiwan's Chen Shui-bian from 2000, when he was elected the first non-Nationalist Party (Kuomintang or KMT) president to the present. Chen enjoyed broad support at home and abroad, but that soon changed. Three criteria are used to assess his presidency: governance (including political reform), the economy, and his handling of foreign and defense policy. The article concludes that while Chen faced a difficult situation, including having a weak mandate and a legislature controlled by a hostile opposition, he failed to show leadership and resorted to exploiting ethnic tensions. Gridlock resulted. Chen meanwhile saw economic decline and deteriorating relations with the United States and China. Finally, Chen succumbed to corruption. In short, Chen's presidency was a failed one. (Asian Aff/GIGA)

The president is the most influential policy actor in US politics, and his legislative program greatly influences Congress's agenda. Yet little research has focused on what factors affect the president's choices when constructing his agenda. We develop a theory that determines when a president will include an issue in his program. We hypothesize that presidents structure their agendas around the congressional calendar for consideration of expiring laws and salient issues. Using data over 28 years and across 12 policy areas, we find presidents build their programs around these policymaking opportunities. We assert that presidential agendas are less driven by individual priorities than previous accounts have concluded.

PRESIDENT REAGAN'S PSYCHOLOGICAL MODEL OF ECONOMIC BEHAVIOR IS A VERY DIFFEENT IDEA OF HOW SOCIETY OPERATES THAN THE INDIVIDUAL RATIONAL CHOICE MODELS USED BY ECONOMISTS. IT WOULD BE A MAJOR CONTRIBUTION TO AMERICAN PUBLIC POLICY TO DEVELOP DIRECT MEASURES OF IMAGINATION AND DETERMINE WHETHER PEOPLE DO RELATE TO GOVERNMENT, AS A HIGHER PRESENCE, FROM WITHIN A LARGER-THANLIFE DRAMA.