Public Problems

Ann Bowman, Rob Greer, and Public Problems host Justin Bullock discuss cities, challenges facing cities, and the importance of local involvement

A conversation with Nathan Favero and Justin Bullock on evidence and using evidence to make informed decisions about Public Problems.

This week, Justin Bullock talks with Greg Gause about the basics of international relations, how the US has interacted in the global arena post-WWII, and how to make sense of some of the current global conflict, particularly between the US and actors in the Middle East.

Video of this class can found here: https://youtu.be/PkVsaGPI6DM

Here are two links that Greg provided after the talk that he thought might be helpful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWOyze8K22I

http://foreignpolicy.com/2009/10/26/one-world-rival-theories/

For Week 2 of the Public Problems 101 course, David Bradford and Justin Bullock discuss the science of Medical Cannabis and ideas for how to regulate cannabis intelligently.

We are providing the audio for each class for the Public Problems 101 course. This is the audio from the Week 1 class.

You can still register for the course here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=13dwTXRjceKToBCmJAcS5Rs18tVcvIjKwi8W0BT2ipRA

Nathan Favero is an assistant professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy. His research focuses on internal management, performance, research methodology, race/ethnicity, and customer satisfaction in the context of public institutions. Most of his empirical work has considered these topics in the context of education, drawing data from public school systems in Texas, New York City, California, and Denmark. His research has been published in a variety of academic journals, including the Journal of Public Administration Research & Theory, Public Administration Review, the International Public Management Journal, and Public Administration.

Institutions of higher education serve multiple purposes from the micro individual level to the macro societal level. They are places where knowledge is both produced and shared; they serve a practical purpose as well a theoretical one; they have a long-lasting influence for an individual’s economic well-being, as well as strong impacts for democratic citizenship and values in society. However, there is a dichotomy in the purpose of higher education in the US, split between the goal of educating students and that of producing academic research, which can often stand at odds with each other. Drawing on substantial experience and knowledge of the American higher education system the host and guest engage in an hour-long discussion about measuring performance in higher education as a tool to understand its impact in educating students. One key piece of the conversation revolves around performance based funding, as a carrot and stick policy that rewards good performance of a higher education institution. What are the dangers of a one size fit all policy in higher education? How are students impacted by the policy, and what are macro level repercussions of such an approach?

Sources:

Favero, N. (2017). The danger of ‘one size funds all’ policies. Huffington Post. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-danger-of-one-size-funds-all-policies_us_58e7152ee4b00dd8e016eaa0

To read Dr. Favero’s full bio follow the link:

https://www.american.edu/spa/faculty/favero.cfm

For the full list of articles published by Dr. Favero follow the link:

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KQW0iwMAAAAJ&hl=en

To check out Dr. Favero’s work check out his website:

http://nathanfavero.com/

Info on Public Problems 101 short course: https://www.facebook.com/events/1993700524209741/

Registration for Public Problems 101 short course:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=13dwTXRjceKToBCmJAcS5Rs18tVcvIjKwi8W0BT2ipRA

Dr. Kent E. Portney is professor at the Bush School’s Department of Public Service and Administration. He was appointed director of the Institute for Science, Technology and Public Policy in September 2016 after serving two years as a Senior Fellow in the Institute. He was on the Tufts University faculty since 1979 and served as department chair in political science and directed the Graduate Program in Public Policy and Citizen Participation. Most recently, he was director of the Water and Research Program at the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy (CIERP) at Tufts’ Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Florida State University, his master’s from the University of Connecticut, and his bachelor’s from Rutgers University, where his studies focused on public administration and public policy. Dr. Portney’s areas of expertise include environmental policy, urban sustainability, urban politics, economic inequality, and policy analysis. He has authored or co-authored nine books on such topics as economic and environmental development, citizen participation, and teaching critical reasoning in the social sciences; and he has written numerous journal articles on urban sustainability, urban politics, and the local nonprofit sector.

Are sustainability and economic development at odds with each other? Does pushing for economic development mean sacrificing the environment and vice versa? In this conversation Dr. Portney explains the idea behind sustainable cities and what he understands as the combination of economic development with environmental protection and ensuring equity in service delivery by cities. In Dr. Portney’s view the relationship between economic development and sustainability is not a dichotomous one. There are more shades in between and the trade-off between the two is not a given. In fact, economic development cannot endure long-term if pollution and environmental problems are not addressed. What then should cities do to develop economically while concomitantly protecting the environment?

References

Portney, K. E. (2003). Taking sustainable cities seriously: Economic development, the environment, and quality of life in American cities (Vol. 67). MIT Press.

Portney, K. E. (2013). Local sustainability policies and programs as economic development: Is the new economic development sustainable development?. Cityscape, 45-62.

To read more on Dr. Portney’s book Sustainability follow the link here:

https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/sustainability

Berry, J. M., Portney, K. E., & Thomson, K. (2002). The rebirth of urban democracy. Brookings Institution Press.

To see the full list of books and articles published by Dr. Portney follow the link here:

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=pmQf584AAAAJ&hl=en

Check out Dr. Portney’s website titled Our Green Cities in the following link here:

http://ourgreencities.com/

Ambassador Ryan Crocker is a career ambassador within the U.S. Foreign Service. Ambassador Crocker was in the Foreign Service for 37 years and, after retiring, was recalled to active duty by President Obama in 2011 to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan. His previous appointments included service as the U.S. Ambassador to Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Lebanon. Crocker became dean of Texas A&M University’s George Bush School of Government and Public Service in 2010.

In this podcast Ambassador Crocker and the host engage in a discussion about one of the most concerning events in recent international affairs, the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS). A few days ago, up to 235 people were killed in a terrorist attack in Egypt, one of many that have occurred in the region, Europe and the United States. While no group has claimed responsibility until now, witnesses report that the assailants carried ISIS flags. In recent years ISIS has turned into a global threat, supplanting almost completely the danger posed by Al Qaeda decades earlier. ISIS has become infamous for its brutal and ruthless style of terror, with images that are still vividly haunting.

Is the Islamic State a symptom or a cause of bad governance? What will ISIS do after it has lost its physical hold on territories around the Middle East? What are the implications for US foreign policy in the region and beyond? Is America retreating from its policing role in the international arena?

References:

For a recent analysis of President Trump’s policy towards the State Department written by Ambassador Crocker for the New York Times follow the link here:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/27/opinion/dismantling-foreign-service-budget.html

For a full bio of Ambassador Crocker at the Wilson Center follow the link. here:

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/ryan-crocker

To watch the documentary Losing Iraq follow the link here:

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/losing-iraq/

Dr. Emily A. Sellars joined the Department of International Affairs at the Bush School this fall as an assistant professor. Prior to coming to the Bush School, she was a postdoctoral scholar in political economy at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. Dr. Sellars received a joint PhD in political science and agricultural and applied economics from the University of Wisconsin—Madison. She also holds an MA in political science from the University of Wisconsin and an AB in economics magna cum laude from Cornell University, where she was a College Scholar.

I/E/mmigration has an overarching impact in society, which is why it often carries charged debates and feelings among people fueling its controversial nature. In the podcast the host initiates a conversation about Dr. Sellar’s dissertation ‘’Essays on immigration and politics,’’ which received the Mancur Olson award for the best dissertation in political economy in the last two years. With current developments in the American political and policy scene there has not been a better time to ask questions pertaining to political dynamics of immigration and the relationship between immigration opportunities and collective action.

The United States relationship with immigration is a complex one. The very existence of a wide constellation of immigration statuses, both legal and illegal contribute to the lack of clarity of the nature of migration in the US and approaches to tackle it at the policy level. What do these intricacies and complexities mean for people coming to the US and how the lives of those already here are influenced and impacted. Who are the winners and losers? Do we place more importance on security considerations when thinking about migration or basic human rights?

Sources:

To read about Dr. Sellars’ research interest and publications follow the link.

https://emilysellars.com/

To read Dr. Sellars’ profile in the Bush School page follow the link:

http://bush.tamu.edu/faculty/esellars/

Sellars, E. A. (2013). Does Emigration Inhibit Reform? Evidence from the Mexican Agrarian Movement, 1910-1945. Article available here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/s814fa8w9zhm9qw/SellarsMigReform.pdf?dl=0

Sellars, E. A. (2017). Communities left behind: Migration, Wealth and Public Services in Mexico. Article available here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/f6k5w92ocw0kbqq/SellarsPublicGoods.pdf?dl=0

Sellars, E. A. (2017). Emigration and Collective Action. Article available here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ct5fqvga7xd368g/SellarsEmig.pdf?dl=0

John Schuessler is an Associate Professor in the Department of International Affairs at the Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University. Previously, he taught at the Air War College. Schuessler received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago. In his analysis of presidential deception recently, Dr. Schuessler’s questions concern the visible depart that President Trump has marked in relation to the truth in the political arena. What is the relationship between democratic deception and self-deception? When does deception blur into self-deception? How does the current president differ from predecessors in the display of deception and/or self-deception? The host and guest analyze the current status of presidential rhetoric and what are the larger policy consequences stemming from these developments. They further undertake a historical perspective on the use of deception as a means to justify going to war, used by numerous presidents and administrations.

Democratic deception in modern liberal democracies refers to leaders, who try to use deception or misinformation, or framing to change/swing public opinion in a certain way as a tool to shift the blame for war onto others. Referring to the theoretical framework developed in his book, Dr. Schuessler carries out a historical analysis of the use of deceit in foreign policy, starting with President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Dr. Schuessler is the author of Deceit on the Road to War: Presidents, Politics, and American Democracy (Cornell University Press, 2015). More information on the book can be found in the following link:

https://www.cato.org/events/deceit-road-war-presidents-politics-american-democracy?utm_content=buffera5317&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

To read Dr. Schuessler’s bio and publications follow the Bush School of Government and Public Service link:

http://bush.tamu.edu/faculty/jschuessler/

To read Dr. Schuessler’s piece on the International Security Studies Forum titled Why does Donald Trump have so much trouble with the truth? Follow this link:

https://issforum.org/

To read New York Time’s list of verifiable lies from President Trump follow this link:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/23/opinion/trumps-lies.html?_r=0

For a list of journal articles written by Dr. Schuessler follow the link:

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=puTZj0IAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

To read more articles from International Security Journal follow this link:

http://www.mitpressjournals.org/loi/isec

To read more articles from Perspective on Politics follow this link:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics