Suchergebnisse

The essential argument of this paper is that, despite the work of many pioneering scholars, the original agenda of those who came to comparative public policy with a view to demonstrating that the functioning of democratic politics makes a difference remains substantially unfulfilled. The substance of that agenda was to show that choices made through the ballot box influenced not only what governments did, but also had implications for important aspects of the lives of the citizens making those choices. One important reason for this failure was that much of the emergent quantitative literature came to focus on differences in government outputs as proxies for whether such differences translated into a diversity of real outcomes. In effect, the literature tried to settle the question of whether "politics matters" by showing how politics shapes what governments do without asking the no less important question: does government matter? This paper seeks to model a diverse range of outcomes with a view to assessing the impact of both political and government spending and taxing variables. On the basis of that assessment, I argue that the challenge for the next generation of political science informed comparative policy research is to go beyond an examination of the link between political choice and the outputs of government to ask questions about - and ideally to begin to map - the linkages between the things governments do and the lives their citizens experience.

"This volume, first published in 1967, offers a new approach to the study of pressure groups, whose importance in the British political system has been increasingly recognised in recent years. Francis Castles seeks to throw light on this topic, firstly by examining the theoretical approaches to an understanding of their role in the political process and secondly by presenting a number of specific studies. For the first time, in one small volume, the reader can become acquainted with pressure groups in continental Europe, Scandinavia, the United States, the totalitarian countries, and the emergent nations. The study is comprehensive in itself and also an invaluable guide to more detailed work in this field of political science."--P. [4] of cover

First published in 1971, this is a clear, straightforward introductory discussion of the importance of sociological knowledge, and particularly sociological theory, for the understanding of political life. The topics covered include sociology and the discipline of politics, the elementary forms of political life, and the relationship between theory, evidence and insight. Francis Castles also looks at functionalism and the analysis of conflict as sociological meta-theories, and at the idea of anomie and the theory of mass society. The book should be of prime interest to students of politics and.

This volume, first published in 1967, offers a new approach to the study of pressure groups, whose importance in the British political system has been increasingly recognised in recent years.€Francis Castles seeks to throw light on this topic, firstly by examining the theoretical approaches to an understanding of their role in the political process and secondly by presenting a number of specific studies. For the first time, in one small volume, the reader can become acquainted with pressure groups in continental Europe, Scandinavia, the United States, the totalitarian countries, and the e.

This book, originally published in 1978, constitutes a genuinely comparative study of the world's only truly succesful democratic socialist parties: the Social Democraic Parties of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The measure of achievement is not merely political success, the fact that in Scandinavia the Social Democrats have become 'natural parties of government', for just as importantly, the author shows that a political success grounded on the symbiotic relationship between party and trade union movement has been the foundation for a higher level of welfare state provision and egalitarian strivi.

A comparative study of Australian society, "Australia Compared" starts from the premise that contrasts and comparisons with other Western developed nations are needed to understand properly Australian history, social structure, economy, policies and politics. It highlights what is distinctive about the Australian experience and what is similar, thereby facilitating both an understanding of the country and any evaluation of policy for change. "Australia Compared" brings together a team of scholars from history, demography, sociology, economics, social policy and political science. It asks many questions: whether Australian attitudes to government differ from those in other nations; whether trends in the family, marriage and divorce are the same as elsewhere; why our policy choices about migrations, the economy, education and welfare are sometimes similar and sometimes different; and whether Australian politics is following the same path as other countries? Taken together, the answers give a differentiated picture of what it means to be Australian and what Australia's future holds. This book aims to provide first-year undergraduate introduction for courses in Australian studies, and will be of interest in sociology, political science and social administration courses, where the aim is to provide a broad and challenging perspective on the nature of contemporary Australian society. Francis G. Castles is Professor of Public Policy at the Australian National University and was formerly Professor of Comparative Politics at the Open University. He is an acknowledged world authority on comparative policy development, and is author and editor of many books in the area, including two on Australian public policy in a comparative perspective. He is also author of more than forty major articles. This book is intended for students of Australian studies and the social sciences.