Public Policy Praxis: A Case Approach for Understanding Policy and Analysis

by Randall S. Clemons, Mark K. McBeth

Public administration and policy analysis education have long emphasized tidiness, stages, and rationality, but practitioners frequently must deal with a world where objectivity is buffeted by, repressed by, and sometimes defeated by value conflict. Politics and policy are "messy" and power explains much more about the policy process than does rationality. Public Policy Praxis, now in a thoroughly revised fourth edition, uniquely equips students to better grapple with ambiguity and complexity. By emphasizing mixed methodologies, the reader is encouraged, through the use of a wide variety of policy cases, to develop a workable and practical model of applied policy analysis.



Students are given the opportunity to try out these globally applicable analytical models and tools in varied case settings (e.g., county, city, federal, international, plus urban and rural) while facing wide-ranging topics (starving farmers and the red panda in Nepal, e-cigarettes, GMOs, the gig economy, and opioid abuse) that capture the diversity and reality of public policy analysis and the intergovernmental and complex nature of politics. The fourth edition expands upon its thorough exploration of specific tools of policy analysis, such as stakeholder mapping, content analysis, group facilitation, narrative analysis, cost-benefit analysis, futuring, and survey analysis. Along with teaching "how to," the authors discuss the limitations, the practical political problems, and the ethical problems associated with different techniques and methodologies. Many new cases have been added, along with clear instructions on how to do congressional research and a Google Trends analysis.　 An expanded online Teaching Appendix is included for adopters, offering original cases, answers to problems, alternative approaches to case use, teaching exercises, student assignments, pedagogical ideas, and supplemental material directly tied to concepts covered in the text.　 With an easily accessible and conversational writing style,　Public Policy Praxis　is an ideal textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses in public policy analysis, community planning, leadership, social welfare policy, educational policy, family policy, and special seminars.

Genres: Politics

346 pages, Paperback

First published July 27, 2000

About the author

Also writes as Randy S. Clemons.

Reviews

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have used a previous version of this book and this version for graduate level courses. This time around I have come the realization that it is a terrific book, but it is extremely difficult to use when teaching an asynchronous online course. I might look at other options in the future and use this as a recommended book in my courses.

[d9fqdfnka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much like the importance that the authors place on postpositivist perspectives. The book is also an easy read for the politically naive like me, and intermittently humorous. But my main objection is when the authors assume that public policy in the US "could easily be translated to a controversy about endangered elephants in Africa" (p. 7). The authors ignore the vast differences in political systems and everything else, seemingly not realising that the world is so different elsewhere.
There are also quite a number of typo errors.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, though because of the structure of the course, I wasn't able to spend quite as much time on the concepts as I wish I could have. I appreciate how confident they are in the importance of a mixed methods approach for policy analysis and research.

[Erin McDonnell-Jones]

This book was assigned for my Ed.D policy class. I will openly admit that I only read the first chapter, felt insulted, bookmarked the chapters in the book, and did not read another page. It was boring, and I felt that it wasn't applicable enough to my studies.

[Fred Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has some good case studies and examples and a reasonably readable coverage of the theory. Might use some of the cases in my course.

[Willa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, if a bit too much on the mushy postmodern side.