Beyond Persuasion: Organizational Efficiency and Presidential Power (SUNY Series in the Presidency) (Suny Series in the Presidency : Contemporary Issues) - Softcover

Kerbel, Matthew Robert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0791406946 ISBN 13: 9780791406946

Publisher: State University of New York Press, 1991

Synopsis

Beyond Persuasion is the first systematic, multi-administration study of presidential power and influence. Moving beyond Richard Neustadt’s Presidential Power, this book offers a model of presidential power that incorporates personal bargaining effectiveness with the structural imperative of efficient White House organization. Drawing upon a systematic analysis of presidents from Johnson to Reagan, Kerbel finds common patterns of organizational structure and bargaining behavior in their successful domestic policy initiatives. The path to power is detailed through comparative insights on the Carter and Reagan administrations, which prove to be remarkably similar in critical respects despite popular perceptions to the contrary. Kerbel then considers the relative importance of presidential behavior to contextual factors beyond the president’s control, offering insight into the way changes in economic and political conditions have hampered or improved recent presidential efforts, despite presidential attempts to organize and persuade. Analysis includes the first year of the Bush administration, and the possibilities for power in the contemporary presidency are discussed.

About this title

About the Author:

Matthew Robert Kerbel is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Villanova University.

Review:

“This book takes a difficult and controversial topic and explores it with a new richness and texture. It enhances our understanding of the presidency. Kerbel’s approach is a novel one, and should be read by every student of the American presidency. I believe that this is a major contribution to the discipline.” ― John K. White, Catholic University of America

“This book has merit on the basis of its rich comparative insights on the Carter and Reagan administrations alone, but Kerbel goes beyond this to make it an even more attractive work. It will receive wide acclaim for breaking new ground on the linkage between organizational efficiency and leadership effectiveness. The rigor and style of the work are not unlike Richard Fenno and John Kingdon. General concepts like flexibility and inflexibility which are of great importance in the work of James David Barber and others are assessed in a more systematic and meaningful fashion. I am enthusiastic about this work.” ― Phillip G. Henderson, author of Managing the Presidency

“This is an impressive, well-bounded, thoughtful, articulate, and above all sane approach to presidential leadership. This work offers the reader both useful data and a real ‘feel’ for the persuasive techniques. It is very well written, and in a friendly style. The book is refreshing for its clearheaded methodology and unpretentious style. Yet it is important, timely, and very useful for other scholars.” ―Robert Spitzer, State University of New York at Cortland

About this edition

• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0791406946
• ISBN 13: 9780791406946
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 238