Christopher J. Bailey

Developments in American politics

This text offers a comprehensive and thought-provoking assessment of government, politics, and policy in the United States. Written by an international team of leading scholars and focused on the trends of the 1990s, this book sets the scene for a thorough understanding of American politics. Part One concentrates on the institutional framework of American government. Part Two examines the parties, pressure groups, and electoral system and the ways in which these dynamic forces channel public opinion and shape the political agenda. Part Three surveys both the substance and the process of public policy in three key areas--the economy, social policy, and foreign policy. Part Four provides overviews of some issues of contemporary political controversy - affirmative action, campaign finance reform, the role of the media, education, and city governance. Part Five assesses the state of American politics at the centurys end.

From “Informed Choice” to “Social Hygiene”: Government Control of Cigarette Smoking in the US

In 1964 US Surgeon General Luther L. Terry published a report on smoking and health which concluded that “Cigarette smoking is a health hazard of sufficient importance in the United States to warrant appropriate remedial action.” Publication of this report marked the beginning of contemporary governmental efforts to control smoking. Over the next 40 years a range of legislative and regulatory action at all levels of government sought to restrict an activity that had become widely identified as the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Warning labels were required on cigarette packages, restrictions placed on advertising, controls introduced on the sale of cigarettes, lists of additives in cigarettes submitted to the federal government, excise taxes increased, and restrictions introduced on smoking in public places. Efforts to assert some control over the content of cigarettes, however, were unsuccessful. Exemptions for tobacco products can be found in virtually all federal consumer safety laws.

US Climate Change Policy

Contents: Introduction The problem, policies, and politics Small steps to Rio Staggering towards Kyoto Scepticism, neglect, and obstruction Action and reaction Conclusions Bibliography Index.

The Republican Party in the US Senate, 1974-1984 : party change and institutional development

The interaction between Party and institution the electoral environment the New Party leadership problems Party-Presidential relations.

Introduction: The United States in the 1990s

The dawn of a new century encourages introspection in nations as in individuals. In the United States the last years of the twentieth century highlighted the country’s uncertainties as well as its tremendous energy, resources and self-confidence. The period of the Clinton Presidency itself encapsulated in its short time-frame many of these competing emotions. As is customary with most new presidencies, Clinton’s rhetoric at the beginning of his first term of office in 1993 had been redolent with optimistic calls for a new beginning and held out ambitious promises of large-scale reform. Before long, however, much of the president’s initial agenda had been stymied and critics and commentators were focusing on the general discontent of the American public. By the time of Clinton’s 1998 State of the Union address, however, the public mood had changed again and there was a much more general confidence in America’s future, despite the persistence of strong currents of hostility to government in general and to Washington D.C. in particular. The years leading up to the millennium had also seen the United States veering between self-congratulation at the triumph of democracy in the world under American leadership and a surly nationalism verging on isolationism.

Explaining the choice of air‐pollution control strategies in the United States: Some evidence of institutional bias

Although most economists advocate use of economic instruments to control air pollution, the US Congress has tended to rely upon command‐and‐control regulatory methods to achieve its ends. Previous explanations of the shape of air‐pollution policy in the United States have tended to emphasise cultural or subsystem features. Such explanations have their merits, but their lack of attention to institutional arrangements means that they are incomplete. Institutional arrangements in Congress can be shown to be an important component in explaining the choice of regulatory strategy to control air pollution. The congressional venues where the choice of regulatory strategy tend to be made are dominated by a small group of legislators with close links to organisations that have traditionally advocated command‐and‐control as a means to control air pollution.

Assessing President Obama’s climate change record

ABSTRACT President Obama’s climate change record is assessed by looking at his success in translating policy goals into policy outputs (laws or regulatory action) during his time in office. Obama’s campaign speeches are examined to identify specific promises to take action on climate change before proceeding to examine whether, how and with what success he managed to act upon these pledges. Obama is shown to have set out a multi-pronged approach to deal with climate change in his campaign speeches and succeeded in translating many of his goals into policy outputs. This finding contributes to debates about Obama’s ‘green’ credentials.

Olympic games, mega-events and civil societies

Mega-events, particularly sporting mega-events like the Olympic Games or FIFA World Cup, raise a number of profound questions about democracy, citizenship, and environmental protection. Central and local governments use mega-events to promote images and value systems. Vast sums of money are spent with little public debate. Planning processes are often subverted to allow vast building projects to be undertaken and completed on time. The wooing of corporate sponsors creates local monopolies, leads to restrictions on free speech, and transforms public spaces into private spaces. Official sponsors of the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup insist rival products are not sold or advertised in the vicinity of sports arenas, intervene in the allocation of tickets, and demand preferential access to events that often excludes the public from public spaces such as streets or bridges. Security considerations lead to the surveillance and monitoring of populations on a vast scale, restrictions on movement, and the removal of undesirables from the streets. Landscapes are transformed, greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere, and waste products produced in large quantities. The collection of essays in Olympic Games, Mega-Events and Civil Societies explore many of these questions. Four essays look at questions about civil society and citizenship. Particularly interesting are the essays on the Beijing Olympics and Istanbul’s bids to secure the Games. Both show that the hosting of sporting mega-events is seen as a means to promote state interests: China wished to show the world that it is a modern country while Turkey believes that hosting a sporting mega-event will improve perceptions of the country as a part of Europe and help its bid for membership of the European Union. The efforts of China to present a positive image at the Games are catalogued well in the essay. Four essays reflect on the environmental impact of sporting megaevents. They trace the rise of concern about the environment, efforts to promote ‘green’ sporting mega-events, and the success of such efforts. The record, perhaps unsurprisingly, is mixed. Infrastructure improvements, such as better water treatment plants, have been built, but some hosts have achieved Environmental Politics Vol. 21, No. 6, November 2012, 1001–1020

Environmental Politics and Policy

While our empirical focus will be on environmental policy, this course also provides an introduction to public policy processes more generally. Accordingly, this course is not intended for students who have already received credit for “POLS 290 – Introduction to Public Policy.” Rather, this course exists to serve students who have a specific interest in environmental policy making, regardless of major or concentration.

A New U.S. Politics and Society

“It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.” Barack Obama’s claim in his victory speech that his tri- umph in the 2008 presidential election constituted a transformative event that heralded a new America was echoed in news headlines and editorials both in the United States and around the world. Phrases such as “historic,” “sea change,” “landmark,” “milestone,” and “defining” dominated commentaries on the election result. Millions of Americans, famous and unknown, concurred in this view that something monu- mental had occurred. Senator John Kerry, the defeated Democratic presidential candidate in 2004, claimed in his victory speech celebrat- ing his reelection to the U.S. Senate, “Tonight new dreams are born and old truths are affirmed. Tonight we enter a new America, the best America, the America of our highest hopes.” Spike Lee, the African American film director, described the election on MSNBC’s Morning Joe show as the “defining event of all human history.” He even sug- gested that human time should now be marked “BB” and “AB”: Before Barack and After Barack. Hundreds of thousands of ordinary Americans took to the streets on election night to celebrate change. One report described an African American wandering round Washington DCs Eastern Market telling everyone, “It’s all changed, man.”1