The GOVERNANCE blog

In the current issue of Governance, Jason Seawright of Northwestern University reviews Dismantling Democracy in Venezuela by Allan Brewer-Carías.  Seawright says the book provides “a detailed and polemical history of constitutional law and related legal regime issues since 1998.”  Open access to the review.

And Salvador Santino Regilme of the Freie Universität Berlin reviews Making Global Governance Effective, a volume edited by John Kirton, Marina Larionova, and Paolo Savona.  “This book is a rare gem in the field,” says Regilme, “as it comprehensively presents the burning theoretical and empirical scholarly issues about the G8 and its cooperation with other multilateral organizations.”  Open access to the review.

In the current issue of Governance (24.3, July 2011), Renée de Nevers of Syracuse University reviews States, Citizens, and the Privatization of Security by Elke Krahmann.  It is “a valuable addition to the study of private military contractors,” says de Nevers.  The book examines how domestic ideologies have shaped the expansion of privatization in the security sector in the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany.  Read the review.

And Richard Allen of the World Bank reviews Legislatures and the Budget Process: The Myth of Fiscal Control by Joachim Wehner of the London School of Economics.  The book enters into the ongoing debate about proper role of legislatures in fiscal policy and the extent to which they aggravate or moderate problems of budgetary indiscipline.  The empirical analysis, says Allen, is “rigorous and thorough.”  Read the review.

In the current issue of Governance (24.2, April 2011) Mauricio Dussauge Laguna reviews Political Competition, Partisanship and Policymaking in Latin American Public Utilities by Maria Victoria Murillo.  Murillo “offers a comprehensive analysis of how the region’s electricity and telecommunications regimes have been transformed . . . [and] shows that political parties still matter” in shaping regulatory policies.  Read the review.  And Joseph Wong reviews Wealth, Health and Democracy in East Asia and Latin America by James W. McGuire.  McGuire challenges the idea that economic development is the key determinant of health outcomes in the global South, pointing out the effectiveness of relatively inexpensive interventions “even in the context of difficult economic circumstances.”  Wong says McGuire’s analysis is “powerful and provocative.”  Read the review.

In the current issue of Governance, Henrik Enroth of Linnaeus University reviews Democratic Governance by Mark Bevir.  The book makes “vital contributions to our understanding” of the rise and spread of the language of governance, Enroth says.  Read the review.  Richard Allen reviews The International Monetary Fund in the Global Economy by M.S. Copelovitch.  Allen says that Copelovitch “provides a comprehensive review of how decisions are taken in the IMF . . . and is exceptional in terms of the depth of its coverage and adroit use” of evidence.  Read the review.  And Paul ‘t Hart reviews Groupthink vs. High Quality Decision Making in International Relations by Mark Schafer and Scott Crichlow.  Their study “adds a whole new layer of analysis” about the way leaders’ traits and behavior can affect high-level policymaking, ‘t Hart concludes.  Read the review.

In the current issue of Governance (24.1, January 2011), Sandra Suarez reviews the Oxford Handbook of Business and Government edited by David Coen, Wyn Grant and Graham Wilson.  The volume “offers a comprehensive view of this fragmented subfield,” Suarez says.  And Robert Cox reviews Governing Sustainability edited by W. Neil Adger and Andrew Jordan.  The volume, says Cox, “is the best outline to date of the emerging discourse” on sustainability.  Read the reviews.

In the current issue of Governance (24.4, October 2010), Julie Gervais says that Phillipe Bezes‘ new book Réinventer l’Etat: les réformes de l’administration française makes a “significant contribution to French academic literature on public administration,” showing how change happens “discreetly and slowly,” but with an eventually profound effect on administration.  Read the review.  John Whalley of University of Western Ontario says that Chad Brown‘s Self-Enforcing Trade provides “a rich array of evidence” about the use of WTO dispute settlement procedures developing countries, and an “extremely helpful” entry point on this complicated subject. Read the review.  Cara Wong‘s Boundaries of Obligation in American Politics examines how community boundaries are socially constructed in the minds of ordinary Americans.  Yves Laberge says that it is “an important and very special book,” useful in reminding political scientists about the ways in which conceptions of identity shape policy. Read the review.

In the current issue of Governance (23.4, October 2010), Jennifer Widner reviews Explaining Institutional Change: Ambiguity, Agency and Power, edited by James Mahoney and Kathleen Thelen — a collection of “thoughtful theoretical essays . . . and lively and interesting case studies” about institutional change. Read the review.  Kathleen Bruhn reviews Workers and Welfare: Comparative Institutional Change in Twentieth Century Mexico by Michelle Dion: “an insightful and original analysis of the development of social insurance policies in Mexico.”  Read the review.  And Adriejan van Veen reviews The Rise of the Unelected: Democracy and the New Separation of Powers by Frank Vibert: “a strong picture of the recent rise of an entire branch of unelected institutions.”  Read the review.

In the current issue of Governance (23.4, October 2010), Lu Zhang reviews The Chinese Worker After Socialism by William Hurst of the University of Texas Austin.  Zhang says that the book “stands out” for its careful examination of the fate of workers laid off by China’s state-owned enterprises: “The book is comprehensive, informative, and rich in details concerning several main issues regarding the laid-off SOE workers.” Read the review.  And Martin Painter reviews Change and Continuity in Public Sector Organizations, a festschrift in honor of SOG member Per Laegrid.  “The book is a showcase of the kind of public administration scholarship that Laegrid has exemplified,” says Painter. Read the review.

In the new issue of Governance (July 2010), Larry Schroeder of Syracuse University reviews Fiscal Federalism: Principles and Practice of Multi-Order Governance by Robin Boadway and Anwar Shah.  Schroeder says that the book “fills an important void in the literature . . . a very complete and balanced review” of the principles of fiscal federalism.  Read the review.

Grace Skogstad‘s Internationalization and Canadian Agriculture: Policy and Governing Paradigms provides “an invaluable guide” to the ways in which Canadian agricultural policy has responded — or not — to international pressures, according to Tim Josling of Stanford University.  Read the review.