Christopher A. Cooper – författare

Unlike most public servants, top administrators – those who manage thousands of personnel and oversee millions of dollars in public spending – are appointed by the head of government. At the Pleasure of the Crown is a detailed exploration of this central but overlooked aspect of governing.Christopher A. Cooper analyzes the appointment of deputy ministers in Canada's provincial bureaucracies over the last century. As the nature of governance has shifted – from limited government to welfare state and into the contemporary era of managerialism – governments have looked for different qualities in those who occupy top bureaucratic posts. Partisan loyalty was replaced by candid advice, and ultimately by feverish devotion to the policy agenda. Throughout, turnover among bureaucratic elites has remained highly political.At the Pleasure of the Crown illuminates the historical balance of power between elected politicians and appointed bureaucrats, as well as the consequences for the integrity of Canadian public institutions.

Unlike most public servants, top administrators – those who manage thousands of personnel and oversee millions of dollars in public spending – are appointed by the head of government. At the Pleasure of the Crown is a detailed exploration of this central but overlooked aspect of governing.Christopher A. Cooper analyzes the appointment of deputy ministers in Canada's provincial bureaucracies over the last century. As the nature of governance has shifted – from limited government to welfare state and into the contemporary era of managerialism – governments have looked for different qualities in those who occupy top bureaucratic posts. Partisan loyalty was replaced by candid advice, and ultimately by feverish devotion to the policy agenda. Throughout, turnover among bureaucratic elites has remained highly political.At the Pleasure of the Crown illuminates the historical balance of power between elected politicians and appointed bureaucrats, as well as the consequences for the integrity of Canadian public institutions.

The American South has experienced remarkable change over the past half century. Black voter registration has increased, the region's politics have shifted from one-party Democratic to the near-domination of the Republican Party, and in-migration has increased its population manyfold. At the same time, many outward signs of regional distinctiveness have faded--chain restaurants have replaced mom-and-pop diners, and the interstate highway system connects the region to the rest of the country. Given all of these changes, many have argued that southern identity is fading. But here, Christopher A. Cooper and H. Gibbs Knotts show how these changes have allowed for new types of southern identity to emerge. For some, identification with the South has become more about a connection to the region's folkways or to place than about policy or ideology. For others, the contemporary South is all of those things at once-a place where many modern-day southerners navigate the region's confusing and omnipresent history. Regardless of how individuals see the South, this study argues that the region's drastic political, racial, and cultural changes have not lessened the importance of southern identity but have played a key role in keeping regional identification relevant in the twenty-first century.

North Carolina represents a perfect distillation of the promise and peril of modern American democracy: hyperpartisanship, gerrymandering, dissatisfaction with the two-party system, the rural/urban divide—these issues are all brought into sharp relief in the Tar Heel State. For that reason, North Carolina politics and government are increasingly of interest not just to North Carolina citizens but to journalists, political observers, and people across the country. Political scientist Christopher A. Cooper, to whom the national media go to when they need a quote about North Carolina politics, offers a primer made for all people, no matter their political leanings. Readers will be introduced to everything that has made North Carolina the most purple of purple states—from the state constitution and the influence of think tanks to the growing racial diversity of the state and the limitations on the governor's power. By explaining how we came to be in the political situation we are in, Cooper shows us where we might go next. And, as many have said, ""As North Carolina goes, so goes the nation.

North Carolina represents a perfect distillation of the promise and peril of modern American democracy: hyperpartisanship, gerrymandering, dissatisfaction with the two-party system, the rural/urban divide—these issues are all brought into sharp relief in the Tar Heel State. For that reason, North Carolina politics and government are increasingly of interest not just to North Carolina citizens but to journalists, political observers, and people across the country. Political scientist Christopher A. Cooper, to whom the national media go to when they need a quote about North Carolina politics, offers a primer made for all people, no matter their political leanings. Readers will be introduced to everything that has made North Carolina the most purple of purple states—from the state constitution and the influence of think tanks to the growing racial diversity of the state and the limitations on the governor's power. By explaining how we came to be in the political situation we are in, Cooper shows us where we might go next. And, as many have said, ""As North Carolina goes, so goes the nation.

This authoritative source for students, scholars, journalists, and interested observers sheds light on the small number of states that matter most in American presidential politics. David Schultz and Christopher Miller bring conceptual clarity to the term "swing states," which despite the media's frequent use of terms like “battlegrounds,” “bellwethers,” and “swing states,” has remained poorly understood. Through examination of these states and the factors that make them “swing” this volume addresses a significant gap in the scholarly literature in a way that will be instructive for scholars and student of elections and state politics as well as the media and the public as they seek to understand the factors shaping the vote for president in these states, and the consequences for the conduct of presidential campaigns and ultimately for the outcome of presidential elections. The fourth edition continues what has made the previous editions successful, and improves on them in a few key ways. First, the contributors focus on just the seven states (plus the two partial swing states of Maine and Nebraska) now seen as being the key battlegrounds that define presidential elections, leaving out the states of New Hampshire, Ohio, and Minnesota which have become more reliably partisan. Second, the new edition employs a new co-editor who not only brings extensive scholarly experience but is also well networked with journalists and is attuned to their needs. Third, the new edition will be published after an election where all the swing states cast their electoral votes for the same candidate—Donald Trump. Wither the swing states?, some might ask. Absolutely not, this volume responds.