Cover: The only flag that counted in the life of my father Patrick John Dunleavy was the American flag with its forty eight stars. The flag with the harp is not the British one under which my father may have grown up. Rather it is a flag design used at different times to express Irish nationalism. It was created in the United States by a group of Irish volunteers who joined the Mexican side in the U.S.-Mexican war from 1846 to 1848 as the Los San Patricios or Saint Patricks Battalion. The motto Erin Go Bragh underneath the harp means Ireland Forever. The current Irish tricolor flag was flown in the Easter Rising in 1916 and officially adopted in 1919 by the Republic during its War of Independence. Photographed by Niall Mackey, the flags are a framed gift from Nora Geraghty, purchased during a Harris Auction sale in Delgany, County Wicklow, Ireland, in the 1960s. Nora thought it belonged in my home nearby, Carriglea, in Greystones, County Wicklow, Ireland.

The fully revised second edition of this textbook offers a comprehensive introduction to theories of public policy and policymaking. The policy process is complex: it contains hundreds of people and organisations from various levels and types of government, from agencies, quasi- and non-governmental organisations, interest groups and the private and voluntary sectors. This book sets out the major concepts and theories that are vital for making sense of the complexity of public policy, and explores how to combine their insights when seeking to explain the policy process. While a wide range of topics are covered – from multi-level governance and punctuated equilibrium theory to 'Multiple Streams' analysis and feminist institutionalism – this engaging text draws out the common themes among the variety of studies considered and tackles three key questions: what is the story of each theory (or multiple theories); what does policy theory tell us about issues like 'evidence based policymaking'; and how 'universal' are policy theories designed in the Global North? This book is the perfect companion for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying public policy, whether focussed on theory, analysis or the policy process, and it is essential reading for all those on MPP or MPM programmes. New to this Edition: - New sections on power, feminist institutionalism, the institutional analysis and development framework, the narrative policy framework, social construction and policy design - A consideration of policy studies in relation to the Global South in an updated concluding chapter - More coverage of policy formulation and tools, the psychology of policymaking and complexity theory - Engaging discussions of punctuated equilibrium, the advocacy coalition framework and multiple streams analysis

Through the use of humour, fun exercises, and a plethora of innovative and interesting selections from writers such as Dave Barry, Al Franken, J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as from the film 'The Matrix', this text hones students' critical thinking skills.

Reveals how commodity failure, as much as success, can shed light on aspirations, environment, and economic life in colonial societies.