Given the influence of public bureaucracies in policy implementation, Gormley and Balla assess their performance using four key perspectives—bounded rationality, principal-agent theory, interest group mobilization, and network theory—to help students develop an analytic framework for evaluating bureaucratic accountability.

Thoroughly updated, the third edition includes:

• new sections on education reform, the response to the financial crisis, and Obama’s support for “evidence-based” decision making at the state level;
• new cases of government intervention in crisis, including the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and the 2011 tornadoes in the Midwest;
• new material on homeland security, including the successful takedown of Osama bin Laden; 
• additional ratings of the performance of federal agencies based on public opinion of government employees;
• expanded discussion of networks and their increasingly important role in exchanging information and delivering public services; and
• a new case study on the BP oil spill that applies the book’s four perspectives.

Thoroughly updated, the third edition includes:

• new sections on education reform, the response to the financial crisis, and Obama's support for "evidence-based" decision making;
• new cases of government intervention in crisis with the H1N1 pandemic and the recent tornadoes in the Midwest;
• new material on public opinion and perceptions of government employees;
• expanded discussion of networks and their increasingly important role in exchanging information and delivering public services; and
• a new case study on the BP oil spill that systematically applies the book's four perspectives.

CQ Press is pleased to comply with the Higher Education Opportunity Act. Please email heoacompliance@cqpress.com for additional information that may be available. Be sure to include your name, contact information, academic affiliation, and the title, author, and edition of the book in question.

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1. Bureaucracies as Policymaking Organizations

2. Bureaucratic Reasoning

3. The Bureaucracy’s Bosses

4. The Bureaucracy’s Clients

5. Bureaucratic Networks

6. The Politics of Disaster Management

7. Why Are Some Bureaucracies Better Than Others?

The third edition of Bureaucracy and Democracy: Accountability and Performance is a clear and cogent introduction to two problems: administering policy in a democracy, and running a democracy when policy is implemented by bureaucracies. As the best treatment of this topic written specifically for an undergraduate audience, the new edition of this very readable book illustrates the dilemmas and tradeoffs faced by both politicians and bureaucrats when they work together to achieve important public policy goals.”

The book gives students a 360-degree view of bureaucratic involvement in the policy process, premised on the fundamental notion of accountability in the public sector. Then, case studies are used to supplement these perspectives so students can see them in action. Very nice ties are made between theory and practice.”

Bureaucracy and Democracy is more readable and more interesting than other texts, particularly due to its ample use of policymaking examples throughout. As an instructor, I appreciate it when the authors draw our attention to an incident or action involving a particular agency which aids in the understanding of the concept being discussed; and there is one on almost every page.”

In Bureaucracy and Democracy, Gormley and Balla take on the hard task of making sense of one of our most complicated political institutions in the United States, and they accomplish this task readily. Students and other readers will find this book insightful and full of real-world examples. This book is a ’must read’ for students of political science and public policy.”

William T. Gormley Jr. is University Professor and professor of government and public policy at Georgetown University. He is the author of several books, including Organizational Report Cards, with David Weimer and Everybody’s Children: Child Care as a Public Problem.

Steven J. Balla is associate professor of political science, public policy and public administration, and international affairs at George Washington University. He is also a research associate at the George Washington Institute of Public Policy, and a member of the International Working Group on Online Consultation and Public Policy Making.