West Virginia Politics and Government

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West Virginia Politics and Government

Second Edition

Richard A. Brisbin Jr., Robert Jay Dilger, Allan S. Hammock, and L. Christopher Plein

Politics and Governments of the American States Series

348 pages
12 tables, 1 map

Paperback

January 2009

978-0-8032-6243-0

$29.95 Add to Cart
eBook (PDF)
Ebook purchases delivered via Leaf e-Reader

January 2009

978-0-8032-1936-6

$29.95 Add to Cart

About the Book

West Virginia Politics and Government offers the only recent study of politics in the Mountain State. Combining new empirical information about political behavior with a close examination of the capacity of the state’s government, this second edition is a comprehensive and pointed study of the ability of the state’s government to respond to the needs of a largely rural and relatively low-income population. The authors discuss public demands on state government, the shaping of the political agenda by interest groups, elections and the role of political parties, and the influence of the federal government on the state’s political and administrative functions. The book also examines the nature of the state’s constitution and the role of governmental institutions, including the state legislature, the governor, and the state bureaucracy, in the making of public policy and the construction of a state budget, as well as the judiciary and local governments. The concluding chapter assesses the future of governance in the state.

Author Bio

Richard A. Brisbin Jr. is an associate professor of political science at West Virginia University. He is the author of A Strike Like No Other Strike: Law and Resistance during the Pittston Coal Strike of 1989–1990.
 
Robert Jay Dilger is an assistant director and senior specialist in American national government at the Congressional Research Service in the Library of Congress. He is the coauthor of Welfare Reform in West Virginia.
 
Allan S. Hammock is an associate professor emeritus of political science at West Virginia University. He is the coeditor of Points of View: Readings in American Government and Politics, 9th edition.
 
L. Christopher Plein is an associate professor of public administration at the School of Applied Social Sciences at West Virginia University. He is the coauthor of Welfare Reform in West Virginia.

Table of Contents

Series Preface    000

Acknowledgments   000

Introduction: Mountain State Politics     000

Part 1: The Construction of the Political Agenda

1. Sources of the Political Agenda: Geography, History, Economy, and Political Culture    000

2. Public Contributions to the Political Agenda: Participation, Parties, and Elections    000

3. Interest Group Politics    000

4. Intergovernmental Relations and the Political Agenda     000

Part 2: Political Institutions

5. Constitutional Politics    000

6. The Legislature      000

7. The Governor and Executive Offices     000

8. The Administration of State Policies   000

9. The Budget Process   000

10. The Judiciary 000

11. Local Government    000

12. Policy Controversies and the Capacity of the State Government 000

Notes 000

Suggestions for Further Reading     000

Index 000

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