Policy Drift: Shared Powers and the Making of U.S. Law and Policy

Synopsis

The Role Of Formal And Informal Institutional Forces In Changing Three Areas Of U.s. Public Policy: Privacy Rights, Civil Rights And Climate Policy There Is No Finality To The Public Policy Process. Although It's Often Assumed That Once A Law Is Enacted It Is Implemented Faithfully, Even Policies Believed To Be Stable Can Change Or Drift In Unexpected Directions. The Fourth Amendment, For Example, Guarantees Americans' Privacy Rights, But The 9/11 Terrorist Attacks Set Off One Of The Worst Cases Of Government-sponsored Espionage. Policy Changes Instituted By The National Security Agency Led To Widespread Warrantless Surveillance, A Drift In Public Policy That Led To Lawsuits Challenging The Constitutionality Of Wiretapping The American People. Much Of The Research In Recent Decades Ignores The Impact Of Large-scale, Slow-moving, Secular Forces In Political, Social, And Economic Environments On Public Policy. In Policy Drift, Norma Riccucci Sheds Light On How Institutional Forces Collectively Contributed To Major Change In Three Key Areas Of U.s. Policy (privacy Rights, Civil Rights, And Climate Policy) Without Any New Policy Explicitly Being Written. Formal Levers Of Change-u.s. Supreme Court Decisions; Inaction By Congress; Presidential Executive Orders-stimulated By Social, Political Or Economic Forces, Organized Permutations Which Ultimately Shaped And Defined Contemporary Public Policy. Invariably, Implementations Of New Policies Are Embedded Within A Political Landscape. The Making Of Law, Policy, And Policy Drifts -- Privacy Rights And U.s. Surveillance Policy Drifts -- Civil Rights Law And Policy Drifts : Pay Equity And Lgbt Employment -- The Politics Of Climate Control Policy Drifts -- Conclusions : Shared Powers, Policy Drifts, And Sustainability. Norma M. Riccucci. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.