In 1980 Congress voted to eliminate the federal system of protective regulation over the powerful trucking industry, despite fierce opposition. This upset marked a rare example in American politics of diffuse public interests winning out over powerful economic lobbies. In Braking the Special Interests Dorothy Robyn draws upon firsthand observations of formal proceedings and behind-the-scenes maneuverings to illuminate the role of political strategy in the landmark trucking battle. Robyn focuses her analysis on four elements of strategy responsible for the deregulator's victory—elements that are essential, she argues, to any successful policy battle against entrenched special interests: the effective use of economic data and analysis to make a strong case for the merits of reform; the formation and management of a diverse lobbying coalition of firms and interest groups; presidential bargaining to gain political leverage; and transition schemes to reduce uncertainty and cushion the blow to losers. Drawing on political and economic theory, Braking the Special Interests is an immensely rich and readable study of political strategy and skill, with general insights relevant to current political battles surrounding trade, agriculture, and tax policies. Robyn's interdisciplinary work will be of great value to scholars and practitioners of politics, economics, and public policy.

Why are America's public schools falling so short of the mark in educating the nation's children? Why are they organized in ineffective ways that fly in the face of common sense, to the point that it is virtually impossible to get even the worst teachers out of the classroom? And why, after more than a quarter century of costly education reform, have the schools proven so resistant to change and so difficult to improve? In this path-breaking book, Terry M. Moe demonstrates that the answers to these questions have a great deal to do with teachers unions—which are by far the most powerful forces in American education and use their power to promote their own special interests at the expense of what is best for kids. Despite their importance, the teachers unions have barely been studied. Special Interest fills that gap with an extraordinary analysis that is at once brilliant and kaleidoscopic—shedding new light on their historical rise to power, the organizational foundations of that power, the ways it is exercised in collective bargaining and politics, and its vast consequences for American education. The bottom line is simple but devastating: as long as the teachers unions remain powerful, the nation's schools will never be organized to provide kids with the most effective education possible. Moe sees light at the end of the tunnel, however, due to two major transformations. One is political, the other technological, and the combination is destined to weaken the unions considerably in the coming years—loosening their special-interest grip and opening up a new era in which America's schools can finally be organized in the best interests of children.

This is a thematically unified survey of current and significant issues affecting interest group politics and scholarship in the USA. Petracca has drawn together interest group scholars and practitioners to write 16 original essays dedicated to making the best and newest research accessable to students at all levels. The mix of perspectives and approaches aims to offer a stimulating analysis of contemporary American interest group activity.

This book focuses on the role of government in organizing the nation's transportation industries. As the authors show, over the course of the twentieth century transportation in the United States was as much a product of hard-fought politics, lobbying, and litigation as it was a naturally evolving system of engineering and available technology.

Canada and the United States exchange the world's highest level of bilateral trade, valued at $1.4 billion a day. Two-thirds of this trade travels on trucks. Heavy Traffic examines the way in which the regulatory reform of American and Canadian trucking, coupled with free trade, has internationalized this vital industry. Before deregulation, restrictive entry rules had fostered two separate national highway transportation markets, and most international traffic had to be exchanged at the border. When the United States deregulated first, the imbalance between its opened market and Canada's still-restricted one produced a surprisingly difficult bilateral dispute. American deregulation was motivated by domestic incentives, but the subsequent Canadian deregulation blended domestic incentives with transborder rate comparisons and concerns about trade competitiveness. Daniel Madar shows that deregulation created a de facto regime of free trade in trucking services. Removing regulatory barriers has enabled Canadian and American carriers to follow the expansion of transborder traffic that began with the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement and continues with NAFTA. The services available with deregulated trucking have also supported sweeping changes in industrial logistics. As transborder traffic has surged, the two countries' carriers -- from billion-dollar corporations to family firms -- have exploited the latitude provided by deregulation. This book is a valuable contribution to our understanding of the policy processes and economic conditions that led to trucking deregulation. As a study in public policy formation and the international effects of reform, it will be of interest to students and scholars of political economy, international relations, and transportation.

"Engaging, clear, rigorous, human and energizing ... a must-read for everyone in organizations." - Kasper Holten, former Director of Opera, Royal Opera House IS IT JUST ME OR IS EVERYTHING AROUND HERE BONKERS? Do you ever feel bewildered or even oppressed by what goes on in your organization? Does anything ever strike you as odd, ridiculous, inefficient or just plain bonkers? Chances are you are not alone. No matter what industry, sector or institution, the world of work can often seem bonkers. We can spend so much time ticking boxes, preparing plans and reports, sitting in unproductive meetings, replying to unhelpful emails and trying to deliver on misconceived, top-down initiatives that the time to do real work is squeezed out. Breaking Free of Bonkers shows you how it is possible to make progress despite the mad and messy world of today's organizations. Against the odds, it is possible to lead effectively. George Binney, Phil Glanfield and Gerhard Wilke are three organization consultants from Ashridge Business School. They have an unusual vantage point. Drawing on their long experience of working with people at levels - from chief executives to front line workers - they offer hope. They use a wealth of lively examples and illustrations to show you how to get connected with colleagues, get real about what you offer and get going on the things that matter.

Motoring unmasks the forces that shape the American driving experience--commercial, aesthetic, cultural, mechanical--as it takes a timely look back at our historically unconditional love of motor travel. Focusing on recreational travel between 1900 and 1960, John A. Jakle and Keith A. Sculle cover dozens of topics related to drivers, cars, and highways and explain how they all converge to uphold that illusory notion of release and rejuvenation we call the "open road." Jakle and Sculle have collaborated on five previous books on the history, culture, and landscape of the American road. Here, with an emphasis on the driver's perspective, they discuss garages and gas stations, roadside tourist attractions, freeways and toll roads, truck stops, bus travel, the rise of the convenience store, and much more. All the while, the authors make us think about aspects of driving that are often taken for granted: how, for instance, the many lodging and food options along our highways reinforce the connection between driving and "freedom" and how, by enabling greater speeds, highway engineers helped to stoke motorists' "blessed fantasy of flight." Although driving originally celebrated freedom and touted a common experience, it has increasingly become a highly regulated, isolated activity. The motive behind America's first embrace of the automobile--individual prerogative--still substantially obscures this reality. "Americans did not have the automobile imposed on them," say the authors. Jakle and Sculle ask why some of the early prophetic warnings about our car culture went unheeded and why the arguments of its promoters resonated so persuasively. Today, the automobile is implicated in any number of environmental, even social, problems. As the wisdom of our dependence on automobile travel has come into serious question, reassessment of how we first became that way is more important than ever.

International Mediation: Breaking Business Deadlock, Third Edition (previously titled: International Mediation: The Art of Business Diplomacy) is written by two of the foremost international mediation experts and practitioners. This title provides an essential guide to the effective and timely resolution of international business disputes. It provides a real picture of what happens in international mediation and how it is structured providing practical guidance to allow parties to make the best of the process. This highly practical book provides the answers to questions the ready may have regarding the international mediation process such as: How does mediation work and what will it cost? What are the limitations? What skills are required? How long will it take? How are the outcomes enforced? How can business best use mediation? It contains case histories and practical guidance helping to put international mediation in to real situations that the reader can relate to demonstrating how and why international mediation works and why it is such a powerful tool to resolving business conflict. The authors show how to use mediation techniques as a foundation for a more purposeful, strategic approach to conflict management in organisations.