Donald F Kettl – författare

An incisive analysis of one of the most disruptive forces in modern American politics, The Right-Wing Idea Factory is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the fundamental transformation of conservatism in the Trump era and beyond.While Donald Trump's 2024 re-election was hailed by many as a personal triumph, political scientist Donald F. Kettl argues it marked the apex of a movement that began long before Trump entered politics--and one that will continue to shape the American landscape long after he's gone.In The Right-Wing Idea Factory, Kettl traces the rise of a revolutionary political force that has redefined the American right. Fueled by soft money and amplified by social media, a network of determined activists and organizations worked to dismantle traditional free-market conservatism and replace it with a populist agenda rooted in cultural and social issues. From abortion and gender to critical race theory, book bans, immigration, and the "deep state," this movement built a powerful new political base--one designed not just to win elections, but to reshape the rules of governance for generations.Kettl reveals how this idea factory has profoundly influenced policy at every level of government, driving polarization and upending long-standing political norms. With sharp insight and deep research, he offers a vital account of how the American right has evolved--and what that means for the future of democracy.

Drawing data from crises like FEMA's tragic failure in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, he demonstrates the increasingly complex nature of the problems our government must solve and the failings of its current approach. Based on the surprising successes of key officials in crisis situations, Kettl envisions a legion of leaders who run government they way that rocket scientists launch rockets--with strong leadership focused on objectives, held accountable for performance, and linked effectively to citizens so that it acts decisively for the public good. This book is a guide to the problems that ail our government and a road map for their solution.

Why federalism is pulling America apart—and how the system can be reformedFederalism was James Madison's great invention. An innovative system of power sharing that balanced national and state interests, federalism was the pragmatic compromise that brought the colonies together to form the United States. Yet, even beyond the question of slavery, inequality was built into the system because federalism by its very nature meant that many aspects of an American's life depended on where they lived. Over time, these inequalities have created vast divisions between the states and made federalism fundamentally unstable. In The Divided States of America, Donald Kettl chronicles the history of a political system that once united the nation—and now threatens to break it apart.Exploring the full sweep of federalism from the founding to today, Kettl focuses on pivotal moments when power has shifted between state and national governments—from the violent rebalancing of the Civil War, when the nation almost split in two, to the era of civil rights a century later, when there was apparent agreement that inequality was a threat to liberty and the federal government should set policies for states to enact. Despite this consensus, inequality between states has only deepened since that moment. From health care and infrastructure to education and the environment, the quality of public services is ever more uneven. Having revealed the shortcomings of Madison's marvel, Kettl points to possible solutions in the writings of another founder: Alexander Hamilton.Making an urgent case for reforming federalism, The Divided States of America shows why we must—and how we can—address the crisis of American inequality.

Why federalism is pulling America apart—and how the system can be reformedFederalism was James Madison's great invention. An innovative system of power sharing that balanced national and state interests, federalism was the pragmatic compromise that brought the colonies together to form the United States. Yet, even beyond the question of slavery, inequality was built into the system because federalism by its very nature meant that many aspects of an American's life depended on where they lived. Over time, these inequalities have created vast divisions between the states and made federalism fundamentally unstable. In The Divided States of America, Donald Kettl chronicles the history of a political system that once united the nation—and now threatens to break it apart.Exploring the full sweep of federalism from the founding to today, Kettl focuses on pivotal moments when power has shifted between state and national governments—from the violent rebalancing of the Civil War, when the nation almost split in two, to the era of civil rights a century later, when there was apparent agreement that inequality was a threat to liberty and the federal government should set policies for states to enact. Despite this consensus, inequality between states has only deepened since that moment. From health care and infrastructure to education and the environment, the quality of public services is ever more uneven. Having revealed the shortcomings of Madison's marvel, Kettl points to possible solutions in the writings of another founder: Alexander Hamilton.Making an urgent case for reforming federalism, The Divided States of America shows why we must—and how we can—address the crisis of American inequality.

Public management stands at the unique intersection of theory and practice. It seeks to help scholars frame questions that will improve their understanding of how policy ideas become transformed into practice and to help government managers see past the narrow issues on their desks to the broader implications of their work. In The State of Public Management, Donald F. Kettl and H. Brinton Milward bring together contributors who focus on the interdisciplinary nature of public management. Scholars from the social sciences-economics, political science, sociology, and psychology-examine what traditional disciplines bring to the debate. Other analysts build on this foundation to probe the theoretical bases of and practical solutions for public management.

Named one of Planetizen's Top 10 Books of 2006Hurricane Katrina not only devastated a large area of the nation's Gulf coast, it also raised fundamental questions about ways the nation can, and should, deal with the inevitable problems of economic risk and social responsibility. This volume gathers leading experts to examine lessons that Hurricane Katrina teaches us about better assessing, perceiving, and managing risks from future disasters.In the years ahead we will inevitably face more problems like those caused by Katrina, from fire, earthquake, or even a flu pandemic. America remains in the cross hairs of terrorists, while policy makers continue to grapple with important environmental and health risks. Each of these scenarios might, in itself, be relatively unlikely to occur. But it is statistically certain that we will confront such catastrophes, or perhaps one we have never imagined, and the nation and its citizenry must be prepared to act. That is the fundamental lesson of Katrina.The 20 contributors to this volume address questions of public and private roles in assessing, managing, and dealing with risk in American society and suggest strategies for moving ahead in rebuilding the Gulf coast.Contributors: Matthew Adler, Vicki Bier, Baruch Fischhoff, Kenneth R. Foster, Robert Giegengack, Peter Gosselin, Scott E. Harrington, Carolyn Kousky, Robert Meyer, Harvey G. Ryland, Brian L. Strom, Kathleen Tierney, Michael J. Trebilcock, Detlof von Winterfeldt, Jonathan Walters, Richard J. Zeckhauser.

Environmental policy has been the focus of reform efforts for more than a generation. Now policymakers face a new and challenging set of issues: how to develop strategies for attacking new environmental problems, how to develop better strategies for solving the old ones, and how to do both in ways that are more efficient, less taxing, and engender less political opposition. On one level, environmental performance is the problem. On a broader level, the question is how reshaped intergovernmental partnerships will affect how America is governed. This book charts the politics of the next generation of environmental policy: how citizens will sort competing goals and responsibilities, how conflict and collaboration will shape the policy options, and how the nation¡¯s political institutions will respond. These issues raise tough political problems that will define which options are viable and how different options will reshape politics. The contributors outline a path to fresh perspectives on the critical problems that must be addressed. Contributors: Christopher H. Foreman Jr. (University of Maryland, Brookings Institution), Donald F. Kettl (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Brookings Institution), Shelley H. Metzenbaum (University of Maryland), Barry G. Rabe (University of Michigan), Graham K. Wilson (University of Wisconsin-Madison) About the Editor Donald F. Kettl is professor of public affairs and political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs. He is also a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. His recent books include The Global Public Management Revolution: A Report on the Transformation of Governance (Brookings, 2000) and The Transformation of Governance: Public Administration for the 21st Century.

The Clinton administration's National Performance Review of the federal government (also called the Reinventing Government Initiative) is the eleventh effort this century to improve the executive branch and reform the federal service. Most previous efforts have faltered. How can present and future recommendations avoid the same fate?This book provides practical and timely guidance to those trying to improve government performance. The focus of successful attempts, the authors argue, should be sustained evolution, not bursts of invention aimed at sweeping transformation. Specific proposals address ways to change government over the long term, ways to streamline bureaucracy, attract more resourceful and innovative workers, and make agencies more responsive to their customers, the citizens.

Why big government is not the problem.The Progressive government movement, founded on support from Republicans and Democrats alike, reined in corporate trusts and improved the lives of sweatshop workers. It created modern government, from the Federal Reserve to the nation’s budgetary and civil service policies, and most of the programs on which we depend.Ask Americans today and they will tell you that our government has hit a wall of low performance and high distrust, with huge implications for governance in the country. Instead of a focus on government effectiveness, the movement that spawned the idea of government for the people has become known for creating a big government disconnected from citizens. Donald F. Kettl finds that both political parties have contributed to the decline of the Progressive ideal of a commitment to competence. They have both fed gridlock and created a government that does not work the way citizens expect and deserve.Kettl argues for a rebirth of the original Progressive spirit, not in pursuit of bigger government but with a bipartisan dedication to better government, one that works on behalf of all citizens and that delivers services effectively. He outlines the problems in today’s government, including political pressures, proxy tools, and managerial failures. Escaping Jurassic Government details the strategies, evidence, and people that can strengthen governmental effectiveness and shut down gridlock.

The era of strict top-down, stovepiped public management in America is over. The traditional dichotomy between public ownership and privatization is an outdated notion. Public executives have shifted their focus from managing workers and directly providing services to orchestrating networks of public, private, and nonprofit organizations to deliver those services. Unlocking the Power of Networks employs original sector-specific analyses to reveal how networked governance achieves previously unthinkable policy goals.Stephen Goldsmith and Donald F. Kettl head a stellar cast of policy practitioners and scholars exploring the potential, strategies, and best practices of high-performance networks while identifying next-generation issues in public-sector network management. They cover the gamut of public policy issues, including national security, and the book even includes a thought-provoking look at how jihadist terrorists use the principles of network management to pursue their goals.Contributors: William G. Berberich (Virginia Tech), Tim Burke (Harvard University), G. Edward DeSeve (University of Pennsylvania),William D. Eggers (Manhattan Institute), Anne M. Khademian (Virginia Tech), H. Brinton Milward (University of Arizona), Mark H. Moore (Harvard University), Paul Posner (George Mason University), Jörg Raab (Tilburg University), and Barry G. Rabe (University of Michigan).

The authors of this book contend that the civil service system, which was devised to create a uniform process for recruiting high-quality workers to government, is no longer uniform or a system. Nor does it help government find and retain the workers it needs to build a government that works.The current civil service system was designed for a government in which federal agencies directly delivered most public services. But over the last generation, privatization and devolution have increased the number and importance of government's partnerships with private companies, nonprofit organizations, and state and local governments. Government workers today spend much of their time managing these partnerships, not delivering services, and this trend will only accelerate in the future. The authors contend that the current system poorly develops government workers who can effectively manage these partnerships, resulting too often in a gap between promise and performance.This short, lively, and bipartisan volume, authored by the nation's leading experts on government management, describes what the government of the future will look like, what it will need to work well, and how in particular the nation can build the next generation of workers required to lead it.

In the flush of enthusiasm to make government work better, reformers from both left and right have urged government to turn as many functions as possible over to the private sector and to allow market competition instill efficiency and choice. In fact, government has been doing just this for years: every major policy initiative launched since World War II has been managed by public-private partnerships. Yet such privatization has not solved government's problems. While there have been some positive results, thee has been far less success than advocates of market competition have promised.In a searching examination of why the ""competition prescription"" has not worked well, Donald F. Kettl finds that government has largely been a poor judge of private markets. Because government rarely operates in truly competitive markets contracting out has not so much solved the problems of inefficiency, but has aggravated them. Government has often not proved to be an intelligent consumer of the goods and services it has purchased. Kettl provides specific recommendations as to how government can become a ""smart buyer,"" knowing what it wants and judging better what it has bought.Through detailed case studies, Kettl shows that as market imperfections increase, so do problems in governance and management. He examines the A-76 program for buying goods and services, the FTS-2000 telecommunications system, the Superfund program, the Department of Energy's production of nuclear weapons, and contracting out by state and local governments. He argues that government must be more aggressive in managing contracts if it is to build successful partnerships with outside contractors.Kettl maintains that the answer is not more government, but a smarter one, which requires strong political leadership to refocus the bureaucracy's mission and to change the bureaucratic culture.

This book provides the first independent assessment of the Clinton administration's ""reinventing government"" plan after a year of effort. What has the reinvention machine produced? Where does it most need to be oiled and adjusted? And has it truly changed the way the federal government conducts its business? The authors of Improving Government Performance: An Owner's Manual (Brookings, 1993) join with other public management experts for a look at both the practice and theory of reinventing government. In examining the movement's driving ideas, relationships with the government's workforce, and connections with the broader political community, they take stock of the boldest governmental reform movement in a generation.The authors assert that Vice President Gore's National Performance Review has sparked remarkable innovations by operating managers in federal agencies. The NPR, however, has unleashed broad changes throughout the federal government without building the new capacity in the Executive Office of the President required to manage the changing burdens of federal programs. The book appraises the many positive management reforms that federal managers have created, assesses the central political and administrative support that the White House must provide if the NPR is to be successful in the long run, and examines the lessons about the president's role in governmental management that the NPR's experiment in decentralized administration teaches.The contributors are Carolyn Ban, State University of New York (SUNY), Albany; Christopher H. Foreman, Jr., Brookings; Gerald Garvey, Princeton; Constance Horner, Brookings; and Beryl Radin, SUNY, Albany.Donald F. Kettl, professor and associate director at the LaFollette Institute of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison, is the author of Sharing Power: Public Governance and Private Markets (Brookings, 1993) and coauthor of Civil Service Reform: Building a Government That Works (Brookings, 1996). John J. DiIulio, Jr., professor of politics and public affairs at Princeton University and a nonresident senior fellow at Brookings, is the editor of Deregulating the Public Service: Can Government Be Improved? (Brookings, 1994) and coauthor of Body Count: Moral Povery... and How to Win America's War Against Crime and Drugs (Simon Schuster, 1996).

Over the last two decades, governments around the world have launched ambitious efforts to reform the way they manage their programs. Citizens in nations like Mongolia and Sweden, New Zealand, and the United States have demanded smaller, cheaper, more effective governments. They have also asked for more programs and better services. To resolve this paradox, governments have experimented with scores of ideas to be more productive, to improve performance, and to reduce costs. In The Global Public Management Revolution, Donald F. Kettl charts the basic models of reform that are being employed worldwide, including New Zealand's ""new public management,"" the U.S. effort at ""reinventing government,"" and related efforts in developed and developing nations.In reviewing the standard strategies and tactics behind these reforms, Kettl has identified six common core ideas: the search for greater productivity; more public reliance on private markets; a stronger orientation toward service; more decentralization from national to subnational governments; increased capacity to devise and track public policy; and tactics to enhance accountability for results. Kettl predicts that reform and reinvention will likely become mantras for governments of all stripes, requiring the instinct for reform to be hardwired into government practice. Ultimately, this strategy means coupling the reform impulse with governance—government's increasingly important relationship with civil society and the institutions that shape modern life.

Over the last quarter century, governments around the world have launched ambitious efforts to reform how they manage their programs. Citizens have demanded smaller, cheaper, more effective governments. They have also asked for more programs and better services. To resolve this paradox, governments have experimented with scores of ideas to be more productive, improve performance, and reduce costs. In this new edition of T he Global Public Management Revolution, Donald F. Kettl charts the basic models of reform that are being employed worldwide. Reviewing the standard strategies and tactics behind these reforms, Kettl identifies six common core ideas: the search for greater productivity; more public reliance on private markets; a stronger orientation toward service; more decentralization from national to subnational governments; increased capacity to devise and track public policy; and tactics to enhance accountability for results. Kettl predicts that reform and reinvention will likely become mantras for governments of all stripes. Ultimately, this strategy means coupling the reform impulse with governance—government's increasingly important relationship with civil society and the institutions that shape modern life.

From Caligula and the time of ancient Rome to the present, governments have relied on experts to manage public programs. But with that expertise has come power, and that power has long proven difficult to hold accountable. The tension between experts in the bureaucracy and the policy goals of elected officials, however, remains a point of often bitter tension. President Donald Trump labeled these experts as a 'deep state' seeking to resist the policies he believed he was elected to pursue-and he developed a policy scheme to make it far easier to fire experts he deemed insufficiently loyal. The age-old battles between expertise and accountability have come to a sharp point, and resolving these tensions requires a fresh look at the rule of law to shape the role of experts in governance.

From Caligula and the time of ancient Rome to the present, governments have relied on experts to manage public programs. But with that expertise has come power, and that power has long proven difficult to hold accountable. The tension between experts in the bureaucracy and the policy goals of elected officials, however, remains a point of often bitter tension. President Donald Trump labeled these experts as a 'deep state' seeking to resist the policies he believed he was elected to pursue-and he developed a policy scheme to make it far easier to fire experts he deemed insufficiently loyal. The age-old battles between expertise and accountability have come to a sharp point, and resolving these tensions requires a fresh look at the rule of law to shape the role of experts in governance.

Donald Trump saw the federal bureaucracy as the breeding ground of the 'deep state,' a powerful, unresponsive collection of bureaucratic experts determined to undermine the policies for which he was convinced he had a mandate. He translated that into a furious assault on the basic principles of both the theory and practice of public administration. One of the points of his genius was his incomparable skill in identifying issues that resonated with voters, and his attacks on public administration identified unarguable problems. But those attacks also eroded government's capacity to get work done and the strategies for accountability that had carefully grown since the founders wrote the Constitution. Transforming administration into instruments of political symbols and political power undermined the basic values of public administration - and created fundamental challenges to which the field must rise in charting a public administration for 2035 and beyond.

Donald Trump saw the federal bureaucracy as the breeding ground of the 'deep state,' a powerful, unresponsive collection of bureaucratic experts determined to undermine the policies for which he was convinced he had a mandate. He translated that into a furious assault on the basic principles of both the theory and practice of public administration. One of the points of his genius was his incomparable skill in identifying issues that resonated with voters, and his attacks on public administration identified unarguable problems. But those attacks also eroded government's capacity to get work done and the strategies for accountability that had carefully grown since the founders wrote the Constitution. Transforming administration into instruments of political symbols and political power undermined the basic values of public administration - and created fundamental challenges to which the field must rise in charting a public administration for 2035 and beyond.

This book offers a critical examination of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1974, which was hailed as a groundbreaking reform to bring strategic planning and performance measurement to all parts of the federal government.Government agencies have to publicly explain what they are planning to do and then assess how well they are doing it. It became the part of the Clinton administration’s Reinventing Government initiative and has endured through many presidential transitions. But 30 years on, what has its impact been? In this volume, some of the leading experts from around the world assess GPRA and how it has changed government in the United States— and how these changes have affected democracies everywhere.This book will be of interest to policymakers, public administrators, scholars, and students in the fields of public administration, political science, and public policy.The chapters in this book were published in the International Journal of Public Administration.

Efficient public administration requires a delicate balance between politics, accountability, and performance--bureaucracy must be powerful enough to be effective but also accountable to elected officials and citizens. Author Don Kettl understands that the push and pull of political forces in a democracy make the functions of bureaucracy both contentious and crucial. In The Politics of the Administrative Process, he gives students a realistic, relevant, and well-researched view of the field featuring engaging vignettes and rich examples from current events like the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ninth Edition has been thoroughly updated with an additional chapter, as well as new scholarship, data, and case studies, giving students multiple opportunities to apply ideas and analysis as they read.

The traditional theory of public administration is based on entrenched notions of hierarchy and authority. However, as the structure of public work has grown less hierarchical, managers have adopted a wide variety of non-authoritarian strategies. This growing gap between theoretical ideas and actual practice poses enormous challenges for front-line leaders struggling to deal with ever-larger expectations and ever-tighter budgets-and for American government in determining how best to hold public administrators accountable for their performance. The Transformation of Governance offers a new framework for reconciling effective administration with the requirements of democratic government. Instead of thinking in terms of organizational structure and management, Donald F. Kettl suggests, administrators and theorists need to focus on governance, or the links between government and its broader environment-political, social, and administrative-through which social action occurs.In this updated edition, a new epilogue shows Kettl urging political leaders to step back from the political barricades of hyperpartisanship to consider government's contemporary dilemma: Is there any practical way forward for public administrators to manage government effectively? Reinforcing the ten principles of bridge building which he developed in the original book, Kettl adds an eleventh, which lays out five transformative strategies: redefining public law to promote public accountability; re-conceptualizing government agencies as instruments of leverage; launching government leaders as boundary spanners; using information technology for building authority and trust; and incorporating performance management into processes that drive collaboration. With a new preface from Michael Nelson, editor of the Interpreting American Politics series, this award-winning book will be sought out by public policymakers eager to read a leading scholar's newest insights into the field.

Some analysts have called distrust the biggest governmental crisis of our time. It is unquestionably a huge problem, undermining confidence in our elected institutions, shrinking social capital, slowing innovation, and raising existential questions for democratic government itself.  What’s behind the rising distrust in democracies around the world and can we do anything about it? In this lively and thought-provoking essay, Donald F. Kettl, a leading scholar of public policy and management, investigates the deep historical roots of distrust in government, exploring its effects on the social contract between citizens and their elected representatives. Most importantly, the book examines the strategies that present-day governments can follow to earn back our trust, so that the officials we elect can govern more effectively on our behalf.

Some analysts have called distrust the biggest governmental crisis of our time. It is unquestionably a huge problem, undermining confidence in our elected institutions, shrinking social capital, slowing innovation, and raising existential questions for democratic government itself.  What’s behind the rising distrust in democracies around the world and can we do anything about it? In this lively and thought-provoking essay, Donald F. Kettl, a leading scholar of public policy and management, investigates the deep historical roots of distrust in government, exploring its effects on the social contract between citizens and their elected representatives. Most importantly, the book examines the strategies that present-day governments can follow to earn back our trust, so that the officials we elect can govern more effectively on our behalf.

Everyone who writes in the world of public affairs wants to make arguments that will move readers and shape policy. That world, however, is busy and noisy, and even the best ideas often get squeezed out in the frenetic pace of policy debates. No author wants that to happen to their hard work.In this fresh and lively book, Barrett, Greene, and Kettl combine more than a century of experience in writing to present a series of guidelines that will enable readers to successfully frame a policy argument; pitch it to editors; organize the work so that the ideas have real impact; support it with data and stories; find the right publisher; and follow up after publication to ensure that the argument has enduring impact. These basic steps work well—but work differently—for a wide variety of policy writing, from short blog posts through an op-eds, commentaries and policy briefs, dissertations, articles for both the popular press and academic journals, and books. The book is a handy manual for writers in the world of research who want to explore the start-to-finish process of writing for impact—and for authors who want to explore a single writing challenge in-depth. It is full of examples of both good and bad writing, as well as the authors’ own tales in navigating the road from a new idea to a written product that packs punch. It’s a fun and useful primer for steering the policy debate.

Everyone who writes in the world of public affairs wants to make arguments that will move readers and shape policy. That world, however, is busy and noisy, and even the best ideas often get squeezed out in the frenetic pace of policy debates. No author wants that to happen to their hard work.In this fresh and lively book, Barrett, Greene, and Kettl combine more than a century of experience in writing to present a series of guidelines that will enable readers to successfully frame a policy argument; pitch it to editors; organize the work so that the ideas have real impact; support it with data and stories; find the right publisher; and follow up after publication to ensure that the argument has enduring impact. These basic steps work well—but work differently—for a wide variety of policy writing, from short blog posts through an op-eds, commentaries and policy briefs, dissertations, articles for both the popular press and academic journals, and books. The book is a handy manual for writers in the world of research who want to explore the start-to-finish process of writing for impact—and for authors who want to explore a single writing challenge in-depth. It is full of examples of both good and bad writing, as well as the authors’ own tales in navigating the road from a new idea to a written product that packs punch. It’s a fun and useful primer for steering the policy debate.