In this book, the authors propose an important variant of regulation—social regulatory policy—and explain how the six moral controversies about the policy (school prayer, pornography, crime, gun control, affirmative action, and abortion) are handled by the American political system.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1985.

Policy instruments are techniques used to implement policy goals. Subject to political conflict, they address the relationship between those who govern and those who are governed. Why do political actors choose certain policy instruments to implement policy goals? Systematically comparing policy instruments employed in the European Union's environmental and social policy, Holger Bähr develops a general theoretical framework to illustrate how policy-makers prefer different types of policy instruments depending on the respective effect they wish to have on member state governments, citizens, consumers, and producers. He argues that institutions, the politicisation of policy problems and external events constrain political actors and provide them with the opportunity to transfer their preferred policy instruments into policy outputs at the end of decision-making.

Policy Diffusion Dynamics in America integrates research from agenda setting and epidemiology to model factors that shape the speed and scope of public policy diffusion. Drawing on a data set of more than 130 policy innovations, the research demonstrates that the 'laboratories of democracy' metaphor for incremental policy evaluation and emulation is insufficient to capture the dynamic process of policy diffusion in America. A significant subset of innovations trigger outbreaks - the extremely rapid adoption of innovation across states. The book demonstrates how variation in the characteristics of policies, the political and institutional traits of states, and differences among interest group carriers interact to produce distinct patterns of policy diffusion.

The United States is a nation that has been facing a crisis of violence within its school system for decades. This disruptive and traumatic phenomenon has had lasting impacts on the systems in which educations must exist, but the ripple effects of this require an extensive analysis. To advance society, quality education is necessary, and ensuring that quality demands that experts take a step back and look at the bigger picture. In the wake of rising concerns over safety in educational environments, Impact of Gun Violence in School Systems delves into the urgent issue of gun violence within the United States' school systems. As educators, administrators, counselors, social workers, and policy makers grapple with the complex challenges presented by violence, this book serves as a comprehensive guide to understanding the multifaceted dimensions of the issue. Examining topics such as gun violence, mental health, school suspension, student success, bullying, violence reduction programs, alternative schools, inner-city youth programs, and zero-tolerance policies, the manuscript synthesizes current research, real-world examples, and innovative solutions. Impact of Gun Violence in School Systems not only sheds light on the root causes of violence within educational settings but also provides actionable insights and recommendations, making it an indispensable resource for those committed to creating safer and more conducive learning environments for our youth.

Free Markets and Social Regulation: A Reform Agenda of the Global Trading System has a twofold purpose to consider what has so far been accomplished in this vital mission in the field of international economic law, and to prescribe some solutions to continuing problems. This latter endeavor amounts to a coherent and integrated plan that will enhance the acceptability of free markets to governments, traders, and other stakeholders alike.

Since its initial publication, this book has become the classic work on every important element of the tumultuous national gun debate in America. This new edition brings together the latest developments and research in gun politics, policy, law, history, and criminology to provide a comprehensive and accessible source widely used by scholars, journalists, and in classrooms. In this era of polarized politics, this book provides a unique window into how and why that polarization drives our politics. Among the new topics covered in this edition are the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, new Supreme Court protections for concealed carry permits, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on gun violence and policy. New to the Ninth Edition • Examines current gun control legislation at both state and federal levels, particularly the circumstances that lead to the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022. • Introduces the new constitutional standards for gun control legislation set by the controversial, pro-Second Amendment Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022). • Provides expanded and updated consideration on related issues including: the rise of "gun carry" movements on college campuses, attempts to regulate "ghost guns," bump stocks and guns with high capacity magazines, .50 caliber sniper rifles, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the January 6 Capitol Attack, and the Black Lives Matter movement on contemporary gun control debates. • Tracks the financial, political, and legal crises that threaten the dominance of the National Rifle Association and examines the rise of new gun rights groups, such as the National Association for Gun Rights. • Presents new and updated statistical research on gun ownership in America, gun-related fatalities, public opinion support of "red-flag" laws and other gun control measures. • Incorporates new pedagogical features of chapter summaries and discussion questions into each chapter.

"Kraft and Furlong provide students with a conceptual understanding of public issues and how the public policy process functions. This book also provides a forum for discussions of social, economic, and sustainable development issues; their characteristics; and impacts on human beings (citizens) as well as the environment. It will give students the needed tools to make informed economic and human development decisions that could lead to sustainable growth, human capacity building, and better lives." —Robert Dibie, Indiana University Kokomo With the right information, we can develop public policies that work better. All too often, public policy textbooks offer a basic grounding in the policy process without the benefit of integrating the use of policy analysis. Kraft and Furlong take a different tack. Public Policy: Politics, Analysis, and Alternatives, Seventh Edition helps students understand how and why policy analysis is used to assess policy alternatives. The text encourages them to not only question the assumptions of policy analysts, but also recognize how these strategies are used in the support of political arguments. The authors introduce and fully integrate an evaluative approach to policy to encourage critical and creative thinking on issues ranging from health care to climate change. From a concise review of institutions, policy actors, and major theoretical models to a discussion of the nature of policy analysis and its practice, Kraft and Furlong show students how to employ evaluative criteria in six substantive policy areas. Students come away with the analytic tools they need to understand that the motivations of policy actors—both within and outside of government—influence a complex yet comprehensible policy agenda. A Complete Teaching & Learning Package LMS Cartridge (formally known as SAGE Coursepacks) Import this title’s instructor resources into your school’s learning management system (LMS) and save time. Don’t use an LMS? You can still access all of the same online resources for this title via the password-protected Instructor Resource Site.

This is a book about the ever more complex legal networks of transnational economic governance structures and their legitimacy problems. It takes up the challenge of the editors' earlier pioneering works which have called for more cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary analyses by scholars of international law, European and international economic law, private international law, international relations theory and social philosophy to examine the interdependences of multilevel governance in transnational economic, social, environmental and legal relations. Two complementary strands of theorising are expounded. One argues that globalisation and the universal recognition of human rights are transforming the intergovernmental "society of states" into a cosmopolitan community of citizens which requires more effective constitutional safeguards for protecting human rights and consumer welfare in the national and international governance and legal regulation of international trade. The second emphasises the dependence of the functioning of international markets and liberal trade on governance arrangements which respond credibly to safety and environmental concerns of consumers, traders, political and non-governmental actors. Enquiries into the generation of international standards and empirical analyses of legalization and judizialisation practices form part of this agenda. The perspectives and conclusions of the more than 20 contributors from Europe and North-America cannot be uniform. But they converge in their search for a constitutional architecture which limits, empowers and legitimises multilevel trade governance, as well as in their common premise that respect for human rights, private and democratic self-government and social justice require more transparent, participatory and deliberative forms of transnational "cosmopolitan democracy".