The Architecture Of Government

Since the days of Montesquieu and Jefferson, political decentralization has been seen as a force for better government and economic performance. It is thought to bring government 'closer to the people', nurture civic virtue, protect liberty, exploit local information, stimulate policy innovation, and alleviate ethnic tensions. Inspired by such arguments, and generously funded by the major development agencies, countries across the globe have been racing to devolve power to local governments. This book re-examines the arguments that underlie the modern faith in decentralization. Using logical analysis and formal modeling, and appealing to numerous examples, it shows that most are based on vague intuitions or partial views that do not withstand scrutiny. A review of empirical studies of decentralization finds these as inconclusive and mutually contradictory as the theories they set out to test.

Since the days of Montesquieu and Jefferson, political decentralisation has been seen as a force for better government and economic performance. This text examines the most influential arguments about the consequences of political decentralisation.

Crown Assets Details the History of the Building programme of the Department of Public Works from 1867 to 1967. One hundred years of government construction generated a broad and diverse network of post offices, federal office buildings, customs houses, drill halls, quarantine stations, government hospitals, experimental farms, research institutions, and many other types of structures. Janet Wright interprets these buildings as a reflection of the forces that shaped their design and construction. Federal buildings mirrored the evolution of Canadian architecture in terms of changing styles and building technologies. They were also the product of a political and bureaucratic process and were shaped by policies, programs, and priorities. It was the interaction of these two forces - external architectural influences and the internal requirements and expectations of government - that defined the unique character and scope of federal building in Canada. Crown Assets is lavishly illustrated with 196 black-and-white illustrations and eight colour plates, richly depicting the federal government's profound impact on the character of the built environment in Canada. It is also available in a French language edition.

A sweeping account of neoliberal governmental restructuring across the world, 'The Logic of Discipline' offers a powerful analysis of how this undemocratic model is unraveling in the face of a monumental-and ongoing-failure of the market.

Presents current developments, issues, and trends in enterprise architecture (EA). Provides insights into the impact of effective EA on IT governance, IT portfolio management, and IT outsourcing.

State governments, headquartered in their iconic capitol buildings, have been governing continuously--and largely democratically, peacefully, and openly--for more than two centuries, a record difficult to match in the history of civilization. Fifty State Capitols shows how the architecture of state capitols contributes to the success of representative government.The formality, timelessness, and public grandeur of representative government are on public display at every one of America's fifty state capitols. Fifty State Capitols describes the majesty and stateliness of each state capitol's exterior form and selected interior details, in words and photographs, including a brief history of the building.

Inspired by the rise of environmental psychology and increasing support for behavioral research after the Second World War, new initiatives at the federal, state, and local levels looked to influence the human psyche through form, or elicit desired behaviors with environmental incentives, implementing what Joy Knoblauch calls “psychological functionalism.” Recruited by federal construction and research programs for institutional reform and expansion—which included hospitals, mental health centers, prisons, and public housing—architects theorized new ways to control behavior and make it more functional by exercising soft power, or power through persuasion, with their designs. In the 1960s –1970s era of anti-institutional sentiment, they hoped to offer an enlightened, palatable, more humane solution to larger social problems related to health, mental health, justice, and security of the population by applying psychological expertise to institutional design. In turn, Knoblauch argues, architects gained new roles as researchers, organizers, and writers while theories of confinement, territory, and surveillance proliferated. The Architecture of Good Behavior explores psychological functionalism as a political tool and the architectural projects funded by a postwar nation in its efforts to govern, exert control over, and ultimately pacify its patients, prisoners, and residents.