Roger B. Porter - Böcker

This study of the 1975 US-USSR Grain Agreement negotiations illuminates the parameters and constraints faced by policy makers in a democratic, pluralistic political system. The author investigates the interaction between the formulation and implementation of a policy, suggesting that who is seen as responsible for a policy is often as important as its content. He also shows how the pluralistic nature of the American polity can enable well-organized constituencies to pressure policy makers successfully for precise commitments regarding their future actions, and how this can actually limit the extent of governmental leverage in negotiations.

Presidential Decision Making describes two organizational challenges the President faces - the interrelatedness of the issues he is expected to address and the fragmented structure of the executive departments and offices he presides over. The dynamics and problems of the Presidency are illuminated in this inside account of decision making in the White House. Newly elected presidents invariably proclaim their commitment to an enlarged role for cabinet, department, and agency heads but often abandon the effort after a few months in office. The Economic Policy Board, a cabinet-level body established shortly after Gerald Ford became President, was one of the most systematic and sustained attempts to organize advice for the President in recent decades. This book examines in detail the Board's deliberations over three controversial policy issues: the 1975 State of the Union tax proposals, the U.S.-U.S.S.R. Grain Agreement, and the 1976 footwear import decision. In evaluating these decisions and assessing the Board, which Gerald Ford called 'the most important institutional innovation of my administration', the author draws on scores of interviews with cabinet officials and career civil servants. The author proposes methods for organizing the decision-making process in the White House and for structuring the cabinet-level committees.

Presidential Decision Making describes two organizational challenges the President faces - the interrelatedness of the issues he is expected to address and the fragmented structure of the executive departments and offices he presides over. The dynamics and problems of the Presidency are illuminated in this inside account of decision making in the White House. Newly elected presidents invariably proclaim their commitment to an enlarged role for cabinet, department, and agency heads but often abandon the effort after a few months in office. The Economic Policy Board, a cabinet-level body established shortly after Gerald Ford became President, was one of the most systematic and sustained attempts to organize advice for the President in recent decades. This book examines in detail the Board's deliberations over three controversial policy issues: the 1975 State of the Union tax proposals, the U.S.-U.S.S.R. Grain Agreement, and the 1976 footwear import decision. In evaluating these decisions and assessing the Board, which Gerald Ford called 'the most important institutional innovation of my administration', the author draws on scores of interviews with cabinet officials and career civil servants. The author proposes methods for organizing the decision-making process in the White House and for structuring the cabinet-level committees.