The Rise and (Relative) Fall of Earmarks: Congress and Reform, 2006–2010

Congressional earmark reform efforts began in 2006. This paper reviews the literature on earmarks and documents the rise and relative fall in earmark spending using four databases. It identifies and critiques earmark reforms, including congressional rules and initiatives taken by the appropriations committees and congressional party organizations. Rules and committee‐initiated reforms were the most effective, producing significant improvements in transparency and expediting availability of information. The number of earmarks and their dollar value first dropped noticeably in 2007 after an earmark moratorium, then stabilized as reforms were implemented. It is premature to conclude that reforms will alter the policy content of earmarks or their distribution.     

Turkish foreign policies determinants toward Palestinian issue under the rule of Justice and Development Party (2002–2015)

The study aimed at identifying the determinants, premises and the milestones of the Turkish Foreign Policy under the rule of the Adalet ve Kalk?nma Partisi (AKP) toward the Palestinian issue. The study sought to unveil the basics and foundations of this new Turkish foreign policy, which the AKP depends on. The researcher investigated historically the Turkish foreign policy toward the Palestinian issue in the last era. It has established a kind of relative compatibility with the neighborhood and the world on many foreign policy issues, which all are characteristics that granted Turkey the possibility of establishing and implementing active and influential policies. The Palestinian issue with all its intricate and barbed nature is the best entrance of AKP Turkey to take a regional and international place. The Palestinian issue is considered the entrance of AKP Turkey to the “Islamic World.” At the end of the study, the researcher recommended that the Palestinian politicians benefit from the Turkish foreign policy under the rule of the AKP. It is through this policy that Turkey occupies a distinctive regional role through mediating between the disputing parties and exploits this role and its acceptance by the international community in supporting the Palestinian issue.     

Public affairs perceptions and practices: a ten‐year (1993–2003) comparison

• The past ten years have been marked by significant changes in technology, politics and economics. These changes have affected the social and regulatory environments in which public affairs (PA) officers operate. This paper describes how PA officers at 74 large US corporations perceive these environmental changes and how PA activities have changed from ten years ago.
• The data reported in this paper were collected first in 1993, then again in 2003. The results show a rather even split between respondents: half (39) believe that their political/regulatory environment is simpler today than was the case ten years ago, half (33) believe that it has become more complicated; half (35) believe there is less social interest in their operations and half (32) believe there is more. The paper then examines the changes in PA activities and performance over the past ten years
• Overall, PA officers are more pleased with their performance (at least in managing social issues and achieving social objectives) than they were in 1993.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Negotiating Education Reform: Teacher Evaluations and Incentives in Chile (1990–2010)

Reforms designed to improve the quality of teaching by reforming personnel practices, such as pay for performance arrangements, usually run into opposition from well‐organized teacher unions that can either block reform in the short run or undermine it over the longer term. The experience of a series of reforms that introduced collective and individual pay incentives for teachers in Chile from 1990 to 2010 provide a rare example of ongoing negotiation with the teacher union that resulted in an institutionalized structure of incentive pay for teachers as well as widespread attitudes of sustained support among teachers for performance pay. Chile offers an important example of how sustained change in incentive pay can be achieved through ongoing negotiation.     

Independence and Responsiveness – Re‐tying the Gordian Knot

Striking the Balance: Public Service Independence and Responsiveness ‐ an Institute of Public Administration Australia roundtable in conjunction with the Australia and New Zealand School of Government and the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, 14 March 2008. The roundtable consisted of around 60 participants consisting of former federal and state/territory ministers, ministerial advisers, current and former public servants, media and think tank representatives and a multi‐disciplinary range of academics.