In the late 1990s the idea of cross-sector collaborations was relatively new in Europe. The term ‘partnership’ was employed primarily to refer to partnerships between government and businesses, usually termed PPP (Public Private Partnerships). On the other hand ‘strategic alliances’ was the term employed for business-to-business partnerships. Until then ‘sponsorship’ was the most practised associational form between nonprofit organisations (NPOs) and businesses (BUSs), which was included within the broad area of corporate community involvement. The relations between NPOs and BUSs witnessed a gradual intensification over the last 200 years (Gray 1989; Young 1999; Austin 2000; Googins and Rochlin 2000) resulting in increased interactions within both the philanthropic and trans- tional types of relationships (Seitanidi and Ryan 2007). However, the more recent gradual prominence of the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) within all sectors of society elicited an intensification of the debate with regard to the responsibilities of each sector in addressing environmental and social issues. In effect, CSR contributed to the increase of the interactions across the sectors and propelled NPO-BUS Partnerships (a type of social partnership) as a key mechanism for corporations to delve into a process of engaging with NPOs in order to improve their business practices by contributing their resources to address social issues (Heap 1998; Mohiddin 1998; Fowler 2000; Googins and Rochlin 2000; Mancuso Brehm 2001; Drew 2003; Hemphill and Vonortas 2003).

Exhorting people to volunteer is part of the everyday vocabulary of American politics. Routinely, members of both major parties call for partnerships between government and nonprofit organizations. These entreaties increase dramatically during times of crisis, and the voluntary efforts of ordinary citizens are now seen as a necessary supplement to government intervention. But despite the ubiquity of the idea of volunteerism in public policy debates, analysis of its role in American governance has been fragmented. Bringing together a diverse set of disciplinary approaches, Politics and Partnerships is a thorough examination of the place of voluntary associations in political history and an astute investigation into contemporary experiments in reshaping that role. The essays here reveal the key role nonprofits have played in the evolution of both the workplace and welfare and illuminate the way that government’s retreat from welfare has radically altered the relationship between nonprofits and corporations.

There’s no question that Americans are bitterly divided by politics. But in Partisans and Partners, Josh Pacewicz finds that our traditional understanding of red/blue, right/left, urban/rural division is too simplistic. Wheels-down in Iowa—that most important of primary states—Pacewicz looks to two cities, one traditionally Democratic, the other traditionally Republican, and finds that younger voters are rejecting older-timers’ strict political affiliations. A paradox is emerging—as the dividing lines between America’s political parties have sharpened, Americans are at the same time growing distrustful of traditional party politics in favor of becoming apolitical or embracing outside-the-beltway candidates. Pacewicz sees this change coming not from politicians and voters, but from the fundamental reorganization of the community institutions in which political parties have traditionally been rooted. Weaving together major themes in American political history—including globalization, the decline of organized labor, loss of locally owned industries, uneven economic development, and the emergence of grassroots populist movements—Partisans and Partners is a timely and comprehensive analysis of American politics as it happens on the ground.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the partnership between Mexico and the United States? What might be done to improve it? Exploring both policy and process, and ranging from issues of trade and development to concerns about migration, the environment, and crime, the authors of Mexico and the United States provide a comprehensive analysis of one of the worldʹs most complex bilateral relationships. -- Publisher description.

First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Routinely, members of both major parties call for partnerships between government and nonprofit organizations.

We undertake the first quantitative and broadly comparative study of the structure and performance of partnership communities to our knowledge. Our study addresses several important research questions. How connected are the members of partnership communities? How can we understand the quality of the projects a community undertakes? How do political institutions shape their structure and performance? After defining partnership communities as networked communities of private firms which form the consortia that enter into long-term contractual arrangements with governments, we show how they are affected by government demand for partners. We then provide an overview of those factors predicting success in financing projects. Finally, we focus on the political economy of partnership communities. We develop and test theoretical predictions about how national institutions shape partnership communities and the quality of projects. We also investigate voters' preferences over alternative arrangements of infrastructure delivery before drawing out implications for research and practice.