Comparative Public Policy and Citizen Participation

Comparative Public Policy and Citizen Participation: Energy, Education, Health, and Urban Issues in the U.S. and Germany focuses on the processes involved in policy formulation and the functions of citizens in such activity. Concerns include education, energy and environmental policies, decision making, and delivery of human services. The selection first analyzes the policy-making procedures in the United States, including participation of the poor in poverty programs, welfare reform, energy legislation, and federal aid to elementary and secondary education. The book then discusses the participation of citizens in decision-making processes in energy and environmental policy. The necessity of citizens’ participation, failure of political parties, local decision making, and approval procedures for the federal emissions protection act are elaborated. The publication underscores citizens' participation at government expense, including federal experience with intervenor funding, congressional activities, and signs of change in the public sector. The text also takes a look at education as loosely coupled systems in West Germany and the United States; experiences with participation in the continuing education of teachers in West Germany, and participation of citizens in the delivery of human services. The book is a dependable reference for readers interested in the processes involved in policy formulation and the role of citizens in such undertaking.

Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Part I - Policy Making in the United States And Chapter 1 Analyzing United States Policy Making Chapter 2 Citizens' Action Groups in the German Political System Part II - Energy Policy Chapter 3 Citizens Participation In Decision making Processes in Energy and Environmental Policy Chapter 4 Participation in Energy Policy Chapter 5 Citizens Participation at Government Expense Chapter 6 Ambiguity As A Source of Political Efficacy : The Contradictions Of The German Antinuclear Movement Part III - Education Policy Chapter 7 Education As Loosely Coupled Systems in West Germany and the United States Chapter 8 Modes of Participation and Policy Impact in American Education Chapter 9 Teachers and Participation: Experiences with Participation in the Continuing Education of Teachers In West Germany Chapter 10 The Possibilities and Limits of Participation In North Rhine Westphalia's Oberstufen-Kolleg of The University of Bielefeld Part IV - Urban Policy Chapter 11 Citizens' Participation in the Delivery of Human Services Chapter 12 The Foundations of Political Participation Chapter 13 Participation and Local Politics in Marxist Theory and Practice Part V - Health Policy Chapter 14 Health Policy Implementation and Corporate Participation in West Germany Chapter 15 Health Care Policy Strategies and Political Coalitions in the United States Chapter 16 Social Planning and Citizens' Participation: A Discussion and Empirical Analysis, with Data Drawn From The Health Planning Area Chapter 17 The Trend Toward Citizens' Participation in the Welfare State: Countervailing Power to the Professions Chapter 18 The Agenda For Participation Research Index About the Contributors