American Public Policy:Promise and Performance

As Peters notes, government in the United States has grown from a simple "night watchman state" to an immense network of organizations and institutions affecting almost every aspect of daily life (p. 3). Government in the United States is huge and complex. The institutions that play a role in formulating governmental policy are achieved now through an overlapping patchwork of governments, public corporations, private corporations and a multitude of other public and private organizations. Today, more than 83,000 separate governmental agencies exist in the United States. And the policies that these governments must develop are now more broad and all-encompassing than ever before in American history (pp. 17-18).

Peters' work is dedicated to helping the reader understand the fundamental processes and content of public policy that underlie the size and complexity of American government. It attempts to increase knowledge about how policies are made, the substantive issues of major policy arenas, and what standards of evaluation should be applied to policies. This book is less a textbook on public administration and more a primer on policy issues and the policymaking process.

Peters' begins with a discussion of policymaking process at the feder

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ncern of public policy through some social crisis or disaster. The bombing in Oklahoma City, for example, has brought the issue of domestic terrorism to the forefront. An issue could be popularized by a candidate or officeholder, or an initiative campaign such as California's Affirmative Action measure, or even by a celebrity with extensive media access. An issue could be brought to the nation's attention by the promotions of special interest groups or public or private corporations. At different times, different sources appear to contribute to the nation's policy agenda. When the agenda is formulated by competing interest groups it is said to have resulted from "pluralist" politics (p. 45). When an agenda is formulated by wealthy individuals it is said to have resulted from a "power elite" (pp. 45-46). When the issue originates from environmental demands it is said to have resulted from "state-centric" pressures (pp. 46-48). Each of these appear to be valid approaches at one time or another to the study of agenda setting. Once an issue is on the political agenda, there are almost countless actors who may participate in formulating the policy choices. The vast number of participants in the policymaking process is partly due to de
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Approximate Word count = 1535
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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