PREVIOUS ARTICLE ALL CONTENTS Next ARTICLE

The Politics of Institutional Reform: Katrina, Education, and the Second Face of Power, Terry M. Moe

Reviewed by Patrick J. Wolf

BUY

 

Political science is the study of power. We only know, however, what we can observe. When a policy emerges publicly, we can note whether supporters have the power to make it law or opponents possess the power to stop it. That is the first face of power. As Peter Bachrach and Morton S. Baratz argued convincingly in their 1962 article “Two Faces of Power” in the American Political Science Review, by focusing solely on public conflicts, political scientists miss the second face of power. True power involves the ability to prevent disfavored policies from ever seeing the light of day. One need not attack what does not exist.

In The Politics of Institutional Reform, Terry M. Moe uses the post—Hurricane Katrina education reforms in New Orleans as a case study of what happens when the second face of power suddenly travels from its zenith to its nadir. Prior to August 2005, the public school system in the Crescent City was one of the most corrupt and dysfunctional government bureaucracies in the country. School board members and teachers union officials frequently were convicted of fraud and embezzlement. Student test scores were abysmal, but nothing changed. Education reforms involving school choice, teacher performance pay, and results-based accountability advanced incrementally across the country during the early 2000s, especially

To continue reading, see options above.

More by This Author

City Schools and City Politics: Institutions and Leadership in Pittsburgh, Boston, and St. Louis, John Portz, Lana Stein and Robin R. Jones Reviewed by Patrick J. Wolf

Leaders and Leadership: An Appraisal of Theory and Research, Mostafa Rejai and Kay Phillips Reviewed by Patrick J. Wolf

Politics and Bureaucracy in the Modern Presidency: Careerists and Appointees in the Reagan Administration, Robert Maranto Reviewed by Patrick J. Wolf

About PSQ's Editor

ROBERT Y. SHAPIRO

Full Access

Join the Academy of Political Science and automatically receive Political Science Quarterly.

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

Academy Forum | Latino Voters, Demographic Determinism, and the Myth of an Inevitable Democratic Party Majority
October 9, 2024
4:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m. ET
WEBINAR

MORE ABOUT THIS EVENT VIEW ALL EVENTS

Editor’s spotlight

Virtual Issue

Introduction: Black Power and the Civil Rights Agendas of Charles V. Hamilton
Marylena Mantas and Robert Y. Shapiro

MORE ABOUT THIS TOPIC

Search the Archives

Publishing since 1886, PSQ is the most widely read and accessible scholarly journal with distinguished contributors such as: Lisa Anderson, Robert A. Dahl, Samuel P. Huntington, Robert Jervis, Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Theda Skocpol, Woodrow Wilson

view additional issues

Most read

Articles | Book reviews

Understanding the Bush Doctrine
Robert Jervis

The Study of Administration
Woodrow Wilson

Notes on Roosevelt's "Quarantine" Speech
Dorothy Borg

view all

New APS Book

Political Conflict in American Politics   POLITICAL CONFLICT IN AMERICAN POLITICS

About US

Academy of Political Science

The Academy of Political Science, promotes objective, scholarly analyses of political, social, and economic issues. Through its conferences and publications APS provides analysis and insight into both domestic and foreign policy issues.

Political Science Quarterly

With neither an ideological nor a partisan bias, PSQ looks at facts and analyzes data objectively to help readers understand what is really going on in national and world affairs.

Stay Connected

newsstand locator
About APS