Archive for the ‘book reviews’ Category
China’s development: Limits to liberalization
In the current issue of Governance, Phillippe Ratte of the Fondation Prospective et Innovation in Paris reviews China’s Regulatory State: A New Strategy for Globalization by Roselyn Hsueh of Temple University. “China only appears to be a more liberal state,” Hsueh argues. The introduction of market principles has been accompanied by creation of new forms of control to protect state interests. “This book is a major contribution both to understanding China’s growth better, and to opening up a new way of thinking about development,” Ratte concludes. Free access to the review.
Book reviews: Eurolegalism, intergovernmental cooperation
In the current issue of Governance, Rachel Cichowski of the University of Washington reviews Eurolegalism: The Transformation of Law and Regulation in the European Union by Daniel Kelemen. “A fascinating read,” says Cichowski, which examines “the move toward a more adversarial legalistic mode of governance” across Europe. Read the review. And Michael Tatham of Humboldt University reviews Intergovernmental Cooperation: Rational Choices in Federal Systems and Beyond by Nicole Bolleyer. Tatham says that the book “fills an important research gap . . . [with] an unusual mixture of detailed case study analyses and rigorous conceptual work.” Read the review.
Book reviews: The new India; healthcare; republicanism in Australia
In the current issue of Governance, Krishna Tummala of Kansas State University reviews The New India by Kanishka Chowdhury, a “polemical work” that examines how “culture and politics come together” in contemporary India. Read the review. Jane Gingrich of the University of Minnesota reviews
Comparative Studies and the Politics of Modern Medical Care, edited by Theodore Marmor, Richard Freeman and Kieke Okma. “A crucial theoretical contribution to debates over comparative policy analysis,” says Gingrich. Read the review. And Jon Pierre of the University of Gothenburg provides an assessment of Fiducial Governance: An Australian Republic for the New Millennium by John Power: a brief but insightful “exercise in constitutional reform design.” Read the review.
Book reviews: State evolution, global governance, Asia’s rise
In the current issue of Governance, Devin Joshi of the University of Denver reviews The Evolution of Modern States by Sven Steinmo. “Thought provoking and timely during this period of global economic crisis,” says Joshi. Read the review. Mauricio Dussauge Laguna of the London School of Economics appraises Managers of Global Change, edited by Frank Biermann and Bernd Siebenhüner. “An important book,” he says, which has implications beyond the field of environmental policy, on which it focuses. Read the review. And Kingsley Ejiogu of Texas Southern University examines Robert Kaplan’s Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power. Says Ejiogu: “Kaplan illustrates the multiple possibilities of the Asian renaissance for US power.” Read the review.Book reviews: Venezuelan democracy, global governance
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.
Book reviews: Democracy in Latin America, Olsen on institution building, public administration in Singapore
In the current issue of Governance (24.3, July 2011), Stephanie L. Smith of the University of New Mexico reviews Participatory Innovation and Representative Democracy in Latin America, edited by Andrew Selee and Enrique Peruzotti. The book “expands our knowledge of how participatory institutions emerge under less than ideal conditions,” says Smith. Read the review. Jozef Bátora of Comenius University considers Governing Through Institution Building, by Governance board member Johan P. Olsen. Olsen’s book “argues persuasively that European integration has not produced any new and substantial theoretical innovation in political science.” Read the review. And John Burns of the University of Hong Kong reviews Public Administration Singapore-Style by Jon S.T. Quah — “a book of immense value not only to the academic community but also those doing business in Singapore.” Read the review.Book reviews: The privatization of security, and the myth of fiscal control
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.
Book reviews: Latin American utility regulation; influencing health outcomes in the global South
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.
Book reviews: Democratic governance, IMF decisionmaking, groupthink in international relations
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.
Book reviews: Business and government, sustainable development
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.
