As China continues to transform itself, many assume that the nation will eventually move beyond communism and adopt a Western-style democracy, yet it could develop a unique form of government based on its own distinct traditions. Jiang argues against the democratic view that the consent of the people is the main source of political legitimacy. Instead, he presents a comprehensive way to achieve humane authority based on three sources of political legitimacy, and derives and defends a proposal for a tricameral legislature that would best represent the Confucian political ideal. He also puts forward proposals for an institution that would curb the power of parliamentarians and for a symbolic monarch who would embody the historical and transgenerational identity of the state. The latter section includes critical evaluations of Jiang’s theories by four leading liberal and socialist Chinese critics—Joseph Chan, Li Chenyang, Wang Shaoguang, and Bai Tondong— as well as Jiang’s responses to their views.

(CHINA: GOVERNMENT * CONFUCIANISM AND CHINA’S FUTURE)

The establishment of shari‘a—the law of the traditional Islamic state—in the modern Muslim world is increasingly popular. Yet under the classical Islamic law, executive power was balanced by the scholars who interpreted and administered shari‘a. That balance was destroyed under Ottoman rule, resulting in the unchecked executive dominance that continues to distort politics in many Muslim states. A modern Islamic state could provide political and legal justice to today’s Muslims through shari‘a—but only if new institutions emerge that restore this constitutional balance of power. Feldman discusses developments in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and other Muslim-majority countries since the Arab Spring and describes how Islamists must meet the challenge of balance if the new Islamic states are to succeed.

(MIDDLE EAST * ISLAMIC LAW * SHARI’A LAW)

Midcentury America was governed from the center, a bipartisan consensus of politicians and public opinion that supported government spending on education, the construction of a vast network of interstate highways, healthcare for senior citizens, and environmental protection. These projects were paid for by a steeply progressive tax code, with a top tax rate at one point during the Republican Eisenhower administration of 91%. The tax rate for the wealthiest Americans has declined from the mid-20th-century high of 91% to a 21st century low of 36%—even as social programs are gutted and the gap between rich and poor widens dramatically. Wenz explains the justice of raising the top tax rates significantly and suggests spending the increased tax revenues on K–12 education, tuition relief, transportation and energy infrastructure, and universal health care.

(GOVERNMENT * TAXATION * INEQUALITY)

The quality of government institutions is of the utmost importance for the well-being of its citizens. Problems like high infant mortality, lack of access to safe water, unhappiness, and poverty are not primarily caused by a lack of technical equipment, effective medicines or other types of knowledge generated by the natural or engineering sciences. Instead, the critical problem is that the majority of the world’s population live in societies that have dysfunctional government institutions. Responds to the following questions: 1) how can good government be conceptualized and measured, 2) what are the effects of ‘bad government’ and 3) how can the quality of government be improved?

(GOVERNMENT * GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE)

Transaction management (or keeping transaction costs as low as possible) contributes to making firms and nations more competitive by exploiting gains from the division of labor and international fragmentation of production. Offers practical applications of modern economic theories on trade, transaction costs and institutions for business and government and presents policy recommendations for strengthening the competitive position of trading nations and reducing implementation costs of government. Topics include specialization and coordination; the hub function of transaction economies; transaction cost economics; the transition from production to orchestration; determinants of trade flows; innovation through transaction management; government intervention and transaction management; and transaction management and the implementation of government policy.

(BUSINESS * GOVERNMENT * TRANSACTION COST MANAGEMENT * GLOBALIZATION)

Transaction management (or keeping transaction costs as low as possible) contributes to making firms and nations more competitive by exploiting gains from the division of labor and international fragmentation of production. Offers practical applications of modern economic theories on trade, transaction costs and institutions for business and government and presents policy recommendations for strengthening the competitive position of trading nations and reducing implementation costs of government. Topics include specialization and coordination; the hub function of transaction economies; transaction cost economics; the transition from production to orchestration; determinants of trade flows; innovation through transaction management; government intervention and transaction management; and transaction management and the implementation of government policy.

(BUSINESS * GOVERNMENT * TRANSACTION COST MANAGEMENT * GLOBALIZATION)

The quality of government institutions is of the utmost importance for the well-being of its citizens. Problems like high infant mortality, lack of access to safe water, unhappiness, and poverty are not primarily caused by a lack of technical equipment, effective medicines or other types of knowledge generated by the natural or engineering sciences. Instead, the critical problem is that the majority of the world’s population live in societies that have dysfunctional government institutions. Responds to the following questions: 1) how can good government be conceptualized and measured, 2) what are the effects of ‘bad government’ and 3) how can the quality of government be improved?

(GOVERNMENT * GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE)

Barack Obama’s galvanizing victory in 2008, coming amid the greatest economic crisis since the 1930s, opened the door to major reforms. But the president quickly faced skepticism from supporters and fierce opposition from Republicans, who scored sweeping wins in the 2010 midterm election. Skocpol explores three consequential questions: 1) What happened to Obama’s “new New Deal”? 2) Why have his achievements enraged opponents more than they have satisfied supporters? 3) How has the Tea Party’s ascendance reshaped American politics? The Obama administration’s response to the recession produced bold initiatives—health care reform, changes in college loans, financial regulation—that promise security and opportunity. But these reforms are complex and will take years to implement. Potential beneficiaries do not readily understand them, yet the reforms alarm powerful interests and political enemies, creating the volatile mix of confusion and fear from which Tea Party forces erupted. Skocpol dissects the popular and elite components of the Tea Party reaction that has boosted the Republican Party while pushing it far to the right at a critical juncture for US politics and governance.

(OBAMA ADMINISTRATION ANALYZED * GOVERNMENT * OBAMA AND AMERICA’S FUTURE )

Over the past half-century, think tanks have become fixtures of American politics, supplying advice to presidents and policymakers, expert testimony on Capitol Hill, and convenient facts and figures to journalists and media specialists. Their unsettling ambiguity is less an accidental feature of their existence than the very key to their impact. By combining elements of more established sources of public knowledge—universities, government agencies, businesses, and the media—think tanks exert a tremendous amount of influence on the way citizens and lawmakers perceive the world, unbound by the more clearly defined roles of those other institutions. In the process, they transform the government of this country, the press, and the political role of intellectuals. Madvetz challenges us to rethink the drivers of political debate in the United States.

(GOVERNMENT * THINK TANKS)

Evaluation research findings should be a key element of the policymaking process, but in reality are often disregarded. The authors examine the use—and nonuse—of evaluation research by decision makers, highlight the impact evaluation has on public policy with an emphasis on the real world of decision making in the public sector, and call for adopting a different approach to evaluation.

(GOVERNMENT * EVALUATION AND PUBLIC POLICY)