This text focuses on the shared Pacific West political arena of Washington State and the province of British Columbia, but has many implications for comparison drawn at the national level. Using multiple methodologies, the book reports the results of investigative differences in the two countries, including political cultures and public preferences in three major areas of public policy: native claims, immigration, and forest resource management.

′The new handbook by Peters and Pierre provides an invaluable addition to the literature. It offers new scholars and practitioners a means to navigate many of the complex theoretical and practical issues in contemporary policy analysis′ - Mark Considine, University of Melbourne The public policies of governments affect the lives and livelihoods of citizens every day in every country around the world. This handbook provides a comprehensive review and guide to the study, theory and practice of public policy today. Section One, Making Policy, introduces the policy making process - the means by which public policies are formulated, adopted and implemented - and serves to review the many competing conceptualizations within the field. Section Two, Substantive Policy Areas, focuses on a number of substantive policy areas to consider both diversity and commonalties across different sectoral policy areas. Section Three, Evaluating Public Policy, addresses issues of policy analysis more directly and assesses successes and failures in public policy in an attempt to answer the question ′what is good policy?′. The concluding chapter considers the different disciplinary contributions to the research and study of public policy both retrospectively and prospectively. Drawing contributions from leading academics and policy analysts from around the world, the handbook illustrates the changing role of governments vis-à-vis the public and private sector and the different policy actors (national and international, governmental and non-governmental) involved in the policy making process. It will be an essential companion for all advanced undergraduates, graduates, academics and practitioners across public policy and public administration, public management, government and political science.

This book examines why the US and Canada have produced such divergent policy outcomes in affording rights to their gay and lesbian citizens. Smith's contribution will prove vital as movements for lesbian and gay rights continue to recast the social landscape in North America and beyond.

The United States and Canada share the longest border in the world, maintain one of the closest alliances, and are notably similar in many ways. Yet the two countries also have important differences, including sharply contrasting political institutions. In The United States and Canada, Paul J. Quirk has gathered a distinguished cast of contributors to present an integrated comparative examination of the political systems of the United States and Canada-with special attention to the effects of political institutions and their interaction with political values, geographic and demographic factors, and other influences. The volume explores the differences between the American presidential (or separation-of-powers) system and the Canadian parliamentary system-focusing on electoral and party systems, executive leadership and the legislative process, bureaucratic influence, and federalism. It proceeds to examine patterns of governance in a wide range of issue areas: economic policy; climate-change policy; healthcare policy; civil rights/integration and immigration; and abortion and gay rights. A sweeping comparative account, this volume serves as an authoritative guide for anyone interested in why the two countries differ and where they might be headed.

Governance and Public Policy in Canada lays the foundation for a systematic analysis of policy developments, shaped as they are by multiple players, institutional tensions, and governance legacies. Arguing that provinces are now the most central site of governance and policy innovation, the book assesses the role of the provinces and places the provincial state in its broader economic, institutional, social, and territorial context. The aim throughout is to highlight the crucial role of provinces in policy changes that directly affect the lives of citizens. Three key themes unify this book. First, it addresses the role of policy convergence and divergence among provinces. Although the analysis acknowledges enduring differences in political culture and institutions, it also points to patterns of policy diffusion and convergence in specific areas in a number of provinces. Second, the book explores the push and pull between centralization and decentralization in Canada as it affects intergovernmental relations. Third, it underscores that although the provinces play a greater role in policy development than ever before, they now face a growing tension between their expanding policy ambitions and their capacity to develop, fund, implement, manage, and evaluate policy programs. Governance and Public Policy in Canada describes how the provincial state has adapted in the context of these changing circumstances to transcend its limited capacity while engaging with a growing number of civil society actors, policy networks, and intergovernmental bodies.

Governance and Public Policy in Canada lays the foundation for a systematic analysis of policy developments, shaped as they are by multiple players, institutional tensions, and governance legacies. Arguing that provinces are now the most central site of governance and policy innovation, the book assesses the role of the provinces and places the provincial state in its broader economic, institutional, social, and territorial context. The aim throughout is to highlight the crucial role of provinces in policy changes that directly affect the lives of citizens. Three key themes unify this book. First, it addresses the role of policy convergence and divergence among provinces. Although the analysis acknowledges enduring differences in political culture and institutions, it also points to patterns of policy diffusion and convergence in specific areas in a number of provinces. Second, the book explores the push and pull between centralization and decentralization in Canada as it affects intergovernmental relations. Third, it underscores that although the provinces play a greater role in policy development than ever before, they now face a growing tension between their expanding policy ambitions and their capacity to develop, fund, implement, manage, and evaluate policy programs. Governance and Public Policy in Canada describes how the provincial state has adapted in the context of these changing circumstances to transcend its limited capacity while engaging with a growing number of civil society actors, policy networks, and intergovernmental bodies.

First published in 1993. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This book places the study of public support for the arts and culture within the prism of public policy making. It is explicitly comparative in casting cultural policy within a broad sociopolitical and historical framework. Given the complexity of national communities, there has been an absence of comparative analyses that would explain the wide variability in modes of cultural policy as reflections of public cultures and cultural identity. The discussion is internationally focused and interdisciplinary. Mulcahy contextualizes a wide variety of cultural policies and their relation to politics and identity by asking a basic question: who gets their heritage valorized and by whom is this done? The fundamental assumption is that culture is at the heart of public policy as it defines national identity and personal value.

What do we really mean by phrases such as "western Canadian political culture," "the centrist political culture of Ontario," "Red Toryism in the Maritimes," or "Prairie socialism"? What historical, geographical, and sociological factors came into play as these cultures were forged? In this book, Nelson Wiseman addresses many such questions, offering new ways of conceiving Canadian political culture. The most thorough review of the national political ethos written in a generation, In Search of Canadian Political Culture offers a bottom-up, regional analysis that challenges how we think and write about Canada.

Now as we stand at the crossroads, the steps taken by national governments, business communities and others involved in the negotiations will determine which path we will take as a world community, to mitigate and to adapt to climate change. As discussed in the book, in the coming years it is more politics than policies that will determine the way