Dowding, Keith's Books

The Philosophy and Methods of Political Science

By: Keith Dowding

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The Philosophy and Methods of Political Science

By: Keith Dowding

This original account of the role of philosophy and methodology in political science gets back to the basics of studying politics. Cutting through long-standing controversies across different theoretical camps within the discipline, Dowding provides an innovative and pluralistic argument for the benefits and drawbacks of different approaches. He offers an analysis of, and a counterbalance to, debates over causal explanation, defending a scientific realist perspective that is open to entirely different methods. Following an introduction to the major 'isms' of modern political science and international relations, the book takes an incisive look at the nature of explanations and generalizations, theory testing, mechanisms, causation, process tracing, interpretation and conceptual analysis. It enables students of political science methodologies and related disciplines to apply sharp analysis and in-depth philosophical understanding to their study of political events and structures. Concluding with chapters on normative political philosophy and the vocation of the political scientist, this is a thought-provoking and wide-ranging text that will make essential reading and will undoubtedly shape the field.

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Page Count

296

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1137572701

ISBN 13

9781137572707

Exits, Voices and Social Investment

Citizens’ Reaction to Public Services

By: Keith Dowding,Peter John

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Exits, Voices and Social Investment

Citizens’ Reaction to Public Services

By: Keith Dowding,Peter John

Over fifty years ago, Albert Hirschman argued that dissatisfied consumers could either voice complaint or exit when they were dissatisfied with goods or services. Loyal consumers would voice rather than exit. Hirschman argued that making exit easier from publicly provided services, such as health or education, would reduce voice, taking the richest and most articulate away and this would lead to the deterioration of public services. This book provides the first thorough empirical study of these ideas. Using a modified version of Hirschman's account, examining private and collective voice, and viewing loyalty as a form of social investment, it is grounded on a dedicated five-year panel study of British citizens. Given government policies over the past decade or more which make exit easier from public providers, this is a timely publication for all those who care about the quality of government services.

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Page Count

207

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1107379911

ISBN 13

9781107379916

Power, luck and freedom

Collected essays

By: Keith Dowding

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Power, luck and freedom

Collected essays

By: Keith Dowding

This book presents thirteen essays from a leading contemporary political scientist, with a substantial introduction bringing together the themes. The topics covered include political and social power, freedom, choice, rights, responsibility, the author's unique account of luck and systematic luck and the nature of leadership. There are also discussions of conceptual analysis, the structure-agency debate, luck egalitarianism, Sen's liberal paradox, problems in the measurement of freedom and choice and the differences between instrumental and intrinsic accounts of the value of freedom and related concepts. The wide-ranging material will provide an excellent text for students at all levels. It is appropriate reading for a host of courses in the fields of political science, political sociology and political theory at both undergraduate and graduate level. Whilst addressing some philosophically difficult and advanced subjects, the accessible writing makes the subject-matter comprehensible for all levels of students.

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Page Count

471

Publisher

Manchester University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1526104571

ISBN 13

9781526104571

Power

By: Keith M. Dowding

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Power

By: Keith M. Dowding

What is the nature of power in society and how can we study it? How do some lose and others benefit from the distribution of power? Why do some groups always seem to be at an advantage in disputes? In this useful and compact treatment, Keith Dowding provides an introduction to the study of political power that overcomes many of the old disputes about the nature and structure of power in society. Making the important distinction between power and luck, Dowding develops the concept of systematic luck and explains how some groups get what they want without trying, while the efforts of others are little rewarded. He discusses the "who benefits?" test, arguing that it cannot reveal who has power because many benefit through luck and others are systematically lucky. Power does not simply put forward theoretical arguments, however; relevant concepts are used to illustrate and explain the debates on power at both the national and local level. Clearly and accessibly written, this volume is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the structure of society as it is, and as it should be.

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Page Count

116

Publisher

U of Minnesota Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0816629412

ISBN 13

9780816629411

Rational Choice and Political Power

By: Keith Dowding

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Rational Choice and Political Power

By: Keith Dowding

Featuring a substantial new introduction and two new chapters in the Postscript, this new edition makes one of the most significant works on power available in paperback and online for the first time. The author extensively engages with a body of new literature to elucidate and expand upon the original work, using rational choice theory to provide: • An examination of how, due to the collective action problem, groups can be powerless despite not facing any resistance • Timely engagement with feminist accounts of power • An explanation of the relationship of structure and agency and how to measure power comparatively across societies This book’s unique interaction with both classical and contemporary debates makes it an essential resource for anyone teaching or studying power in the disciplines of sociology, philosophy, politics or international relations.

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Page Count

256

Publisher

Policy Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1529206340

ISBN 13

9781529206340

Power, Luck and Freedom

Collected Essays

By: Keith Dowding

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Power, Luck and Freedom

Collected Essays

By: Keith Dowding

Keith Dowding is a major figure in relation to debates on power and highly influential in the fields of political theory and political science. Power luck and freedom is a collection of his essays and articles, that provide a significant reference point for the field of power analysis.

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Page Count

298

Published Date

ISBN 10

1526107287

ISBN 13

9781526107282

Policy Agendas in Australia

By: Keith Dowding,Aaron Martin

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Policy Agendas in Australia

By: Keith Dowding,Aaron Martin

This book contributes to and expands on the major international Comparative Policy Agendas Project. It sets the project in context, and provides a comprehensive assessment of the changing policy agenda in Australia over a forty-year period, using a unique systematic dataset of governor-general speeches, legislation and parliamentary questions, and then mapping these on to media coverage and what the public believes (according to poll evidence) government should be concentrating upon. The book answers some important questions in political science: what are the most important legislative priorities for government over time? Does the government follow talk with action? Does government attend to the issues the public identifies as most important? And how does media attention follow the policy agenda? The authors deploy their unique dataset to provide a new and exciting perspective on the nature of Australian public policy and the Comparative Policy Agendas Project more broadly.

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Page Count

265

Publisher

Springer

Published Date

ISBN 10

3319408054

ISBN 13

9783319408057

Accounting for Ministers

Scandal and Survival in British Government 1945–2007

By: Samuel Berlinski,Torun Dewan,Keith Dowding

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Accounting for Ministers

Scandal and Survival in British Government 1945–2007

By: Samuel Berlinski,Torun Dewan,Keith Dowding

Accounting for Ministers uses the tools of modern political science to analyse the factors which determine the fortunes of Cabinet ministers. Utilising agency theory, it describes Cabinet government as a system of incentives for prime ministerial and parliamentary rule. The authors use a unique dataset of ministers from 1945 to 2007 to examine the structural and individual characteristics that lead to the selection and durability of ministers. Sensitive to historical context, it describes the unique features of different Prime Ministers and the sorts of issues and scandals that lead to the forced exit of ministers. The authors identify the structural factors that determine ministerial performance and tenure, seeing resignation calls as performance indicators. Probing the nature of individual and collective responsibility within Westminster forms of government, its rigorous analysis provides powerful new insights into the nature of Cabinet government.

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Page Count

209

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1107393523

ISBN 13

9781107393523

Rational Choice and Political Power

By: Keith Dowding

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Rational Choice and Political Power

By: Keith Dowding

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256

Publisher

Policy Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1529206359

ISBN 13

9781529206357

Secret Agent, Unsung Hero

The Valour of Bruce Dowding

By: Peter Dowding,Ken Spillman

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Secret Agent, Unsung Hero

The Valour of Bruce Dowding

By: Peter Dowding,Ken Spillman

Young Australian teacher Bruce Dowding arrived in Paris in 1938, planning only to improve his understanding of French language and culture. Secret Agent, Unsung Hero draws on decades of research to reveal, for the first time, his coming of age as a leader in escape and evasion during World War II. Dowding helped exfiltrate hundreds of Allied servicemen from occupied France and paid the ultimate price. He was beheaded by the Nazis just after his 29th birthday in 1943.

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Page Count

420

Publisher

Pen and Sword Military

Published Date

ISBN 10

1399055453

ISBN 13

9781399055451

It’s the Government, Stupid

How Governments Blame Citizens for Their Own Policies

By: Dowding, Keith

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It’s the Government, Stupid

How Governments Blame Citizens for Their Own Policies

By: Dowding, Keith

Governments have developed a convenient habit of blaming social problems on their citizens, placing too much emphasis on personal responsibility and pursuing policies to ‘nudge’ their citizens to better behaviour. Keith Dowding shows that, in fact, responsibility for many of our biggest social crises – including homelessness, gun crime, obesity, drug addiction and problem gambling – should be laid at the feet of politicians. He calls for us to stop scapegoating fellow citizens and to demand more from our governments, who have the real power and responsibility to alleviate social problems and bring about lasting change.

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Page Count

210

Publisher

Bristol University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1529206391

ISBN 13

9781529206395

A Few Drops Short of a Pint

By: Chris Dowding

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A Few Drops Short of a Pint

By: Chris Dowding

With 700 pubs in Dublin alone, the Irish have no shortage of places to enjoy a pint of the black stuff. Guinness is very big business. Distinctive black delivery trucks scurried around the city carrying large kegs to the pubs. Advertisements were played regularly on TV. There were large posters on bridges, buses and billboards everywhere. In Dub...

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358

Publisher

ReadHowYouWant.com

Published Date

ISBN 10

1442953128

ISBN 13

9781442953123

Selected Papers of Frederick Sanger

With Commentaries

By: Frederick Sanger,Margaret Dowding

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Selected Papers of Frederick Sanger

With Commentaries

By: Frederick Sanger,Margaret Dowding

This important volume is mainly concerned with the development of methods for ?sequencing? ? that is, determination of the order of the amino acids in proteins and of nucleotides in RNA and DNA. In 1943 the position of only one amino acid in a protein (insulin) was known, and Sanger's first paper resulted in finding a second amino acid. In his final paper in 1982 he describes the determination of a DNA sequence of 48,502 nucleotides. The papers describe the steady improvements in techniques, and exciting biological results revealed by the sequences.

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Page Count

680

Publisher

World Scientific

Published Date

ISBN 10

9810224303

ISBN 13

9789810224301

Accounting for Ministers

Scandal and Survival in British Government 1945–2007

By: Samuel Berlinski,Torun Dewan,Keith Dowding

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Accounting for Ministers

Scandal and Survival in British Government 1945–2007

By: Samuel Berlinski,Torun Dewan,Keith Dowding

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Page Count

209

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1107393523

ISBN 13

9781107393523

It’s the Government, Stupid

How Governments Blame Citizens for Their Own Policies

By: Dowding, Keith

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It’s the Government, Stupid

How Governments Blame Citizens for Their Own Policies

By: Dowding, Keith

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Page Count

210

Publisher

Bristol University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1529206383

ISBN 13

9781529206388

Policy Agendas in Australia

By: Keith Dowding,Aaron Martin

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Policy Agendas in Australia

By: Keith Dowding,Aaron Martin

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255

Publisher

Palgrave Macmillan

Published Date

ISBN 10

3319408046

ISBN 13

9783319408040

Economic Perspectives on Government

By: Keith Dowding,Brad R. Taylor

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Economic Perspectives on Government

By: Keith Dowding,Brad R. Taylor

“Dowding and Taylor offer student and scholar alike a clear and compelling perspective on the foundations of political economy. Their narrative coherently frames the scholarship of the last half century, and persuasively applies it to the recurring problems facing groups, markets, and whole societies.”—Kenneth A. Shepsle, Harvard University, USA This book introduces and applies the economic way of thinking to public policy and public administration. It provides a non-technical introduction and assumes no prior economic or mathematical training but looks closely at the methodological and normative assumptions underlying economic analysis. It provides a deep understanding of the method than a simple technical presentation would allow. After introducing the basic assumptions of the economic method, the book considers the analysis of market failure, the role of government in a market economy, behavioural economics, bargaining in government, bureaucracy, interest groups, and levels of government. By providing a balanced introduction to and overview of economic approaches to government, the book will be useful to undergraduate and postgraduate students in public administration and public policy, as well as academics and practitioners in these fields interested in the application of the economic way of thinking.

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Page Count

139

Publisher

Springer

Published Date

ISBN 10

3030197077

ISBN 13

9783030197070

The Civil Service

By: Keith Dowding

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The Civil Service

By: Keith Dowding

Radical reforms of the civil service during the 1980s and 90s have broken up the old unified hierarchical structures. In their place are peripheral agencies concerned with policy implementation and a central core comcerned with policy-making. The radical reforms are described and assessed in terms of the public choice and public management theories which underpin them. Bureau-maximizing and bureau-shaping models are used to predict the directions we should expect the reforms to take and their likely success. The key central chapter of the book examines the equivocal use of the term "efficiency" used to justify the managerial changes. This is the first textbook which critically examines theories of bureaucracy together with an introductory and descriptive account of the civil service today.

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Page Count

220

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1134903804

ISBN 13

9781134903801

Political Analysis and Public Choice

By: Dewan

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Political Analysis and Public Choice

By: Dewan

This book provides an introduction to the application of the techniques of formal analytic methods and quantitative analysis to the study of political science. The book has been written with several different levels of students in mind. It can be used for relatively simple undergraduate courses in politics that do not require high levels of mathematical competence. However, its framework is such that it can form the core text for more advanced courses on the use of formal methods in politics that might be taught at the graduate level in both politics and economics. To that end each chapter builds in sophistication. Amongst the core topics covered in the book can be counted rent-seeking, voting, collective action, resdistribution and pressure groups. The book cleverly covers the related but distinct disciplines of public choice and political economics and should appeal to students and researchers in both economics and political science.

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Page Count

400

Published Date

ISBN 10

0415428785

ISBN 13

9780415428781

Accounting for Ministers

By: Samuel Berlinski,Torun Andreas Dewan,Professor Keith Dowding

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Accounting for Ministers

By: Samuel Berlinski,Torun Andreas Dewan,Professor Keith Dowding

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Page Count

210

Published Date

ISBN 10

1139336398

ISBN 13

9781139336390

Secret Agent, Unsung Hero

The Valour of Bruce Dowding

By: Peter Dowding,Ken Spillman

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Secret Agent, Unsung Hero

The Valour of Bruce Dowding

By: Peter Dowding,Ken Spillman

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Page Count

314

Publisher

Pen and Sword Military

Published Date

ISBN 10

139905547X

ISBN 13

9781399055475

It's the Government, Stupid

How Governments Blame Citizens for Their Own Policies

By: Keith M. Dowding

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It's the Government, Stupid

How Governments Blame Citizens for Their Own Policies

By: Keith M. Dowding

Governments conveniently blame social problems on their citizens, placing too much emphasis on personal responsibility. This book shows that 'nudging' citizens to better behaviour simply isn't good enough and explains why we should hold our politicians responsible for social problems.

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