SPOTLIGHT: Managing Disasters through Public-Private Partnerships

Ami J. Abou-bakr

Georgetown University Press

From the publisher: The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, generated a great deal of discussion in public policy and disaster management circles about the importance of increasing national resilience to rebound from catastrophic events. Since the majority of physical and virtual networks that the United States relieson are owned and operated by the private sector, a consensus has emerged that public-private partnerships (PPPs) are a crucial aspect of an effective resilience strategy. Significant barriers to cooperation persist, however, despite acknowledgment that public-private collaboration for managing disasters would be mutually beneficial.

Managing Disasters through Public-Private Partnerships constitutes the first in-depth exploration of PPPs as tools of disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and resilience in the United States. The author assesses the viability of PPPs at the federal level and explains why attempts to develop these partnerships have largely fallen short. The author develops two original frameworks to compare different kinds of PPPs and analyzes the critical factors that make them successes or failures, pointing toward ways to improve collaboration in the future.

Ami J. Abou-bakr is a lecturer in politics in the department of political economy at King's College London. As a “practitioner academic” who spent several years working in the US financial sector before returning to academia, her research is directed toward informing policy decisions and influencing public and private

SPOTLIGHT: Civility and Democracy in America: A Reasonable Understanding

Washington State University Press

Cornell Clayton and Richard Elgar, editors

From the publisher: Whether taking the form of civil unrest in the Middle East or domestic terrorism in the U.S., zeal and violence are part of society. Although brutality is denounced, less extreme incivility can serve a purpose. As political scientist Cornell Clayton observed, “People who engage in politics in a very passionate, raucous way [are] usually associated with some major transformations taking place in our society.”

This new book explores these connections. Comprised of 22 essays by historians, politicians, and activists across a variety disciplines, Civility and Democracy in America had its beginning in March 2011, when two organizations—The Idaho Humanities Council and The Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service at Washington State University—brought internationally recognized humanities scholars together. The presenters analyzed the role of civility in democracy from five distinct perspectives: history, religion, architecture, philosophy and ethics, and communication and media. Contributors include professors from 13 major universities as well as a, former U.S. Chief Architect, and the editor and vice president of the Oregonian.

Cornell Clayton is a professor of political science at Washington State University and co-edits the journal, Political Research Quarterly. He has been the director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service since 2008. Book co-editor Richard Elgar is the assistant director.

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