Research

Risking House and Home: Disasters, Cities, Public Policy

John M. Quigley
Larry A. Rosenthal
2008

Natural disasters are too often viewed as unpredictable and horrendous 'one-off' events. Edited by John Quigley and Larry Rosenthal, this useful collection of essays and research studies takes a systematic look at how private insurers, governments, and the larger economy respond to floods, earthquakes, wildfires, and terrorist events. Chapters by Howard Kunreuther (on insurance), Alan Berger, Carolyn Kousky, and Richard Zeckhauser (on damage distributions and losses), and Adam Rose (on resilience) are especially welcome for their coverage of the full range of impacts, losses, and...

America After Iraq: A New World Order or No Order?

Mark Steyn
2008

In a series of three talks, Mark Steyn examines America's role in the world and how it might change. In "Strong Horse, Weak Horse: American Power and World Perception," he begins by talking about how the world views the United States, especially in light of our occasional willingness to use power and our occasional reluctance to do so. In "After America: New Order and No Order," Steyn speculates about a future in which "America is so isolated that it is no longer the maintainer of global order." And then in the final talk, a question-and-answer session with Naval ROTC students, Steyn...

The New Political Geography of California

Frédérick Douzet
Thad Kousser
Kenneth P. Miller
2008

In many ways, recent developments in California politics can be understood best through geography. The formal rules of American politics — such as district-based elections and the Electoral College — make geography crucial to the political process. Where voters live is in many ways as important as how they behave. In recent decades, California's political map has changed dramatically as the state's fast-growing population has divided along racial, ethnic, economic, religious, and cultural lines. Most notably at the statewide level, these trends have caused California's traditional North-...

America and the Middle East: Challenges for the Future

John Abizaid
Michael Scheuer
2009

John P. Abizaid retired from the United States Army in May 2007, after 34 years of active service. After graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point, he rose from infantry platoon leader to become, at that time, the youngest four-star general in the Army. At the time of his retirement he was the longest-serving commander of United States Central Command. During a distinguished career he commanded units at every level, serving in the combat zones of Grenada, Lebanon, Kurdistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. Units under his command have included the 1st Infantry...

After the Tax Revolt: California's Proposition 13 Turns Thirty

Jack Citrin and Isaac William Martin, editors
2009

In 1978 California voters shocked the political world by approving Proposition 13, a strict limit on local property tax rates. No state had ever approved such a far-reaching constitutional limitation of the power to tax. And Californians did not just approve it; they embraced it, rejecting dire warnings of doomsday from the state's political, business, and academic leaders. Voter turnout was the highest recorded for any off-year election in the history of California and the tax cut won in a landslide, with 65% of the vote. Thirty years later, Proposition 13 remains firmly entrenched in...

California's Golden Years: When Government Worked and Why

William T. Bagley
2009

"Politics is personal," Bill Bagley likes to say, and here is a personal journey through the politics of America's most extraordinary state. California's Golden Years offers tales of cash-filled envelopes, all-night poker games, and all the free liquor a legislator could drink. But the stories and anecdotes offer more than mere fun - they illuminate a larger lesson learned during Bagley's 14 years in the California Legislature. Personal relationships are, in Bagley's view, the glue that ensures working relationships and pragmatic compromises. "Those who play together," he writes, "...

Globalization's Muse: Universities and Higher Education Systems in a Changing World

John Aubrey Douglass
C. Judson King
Iriwn Feller
2009

Universities have become a widely recognized route to full participation in the knowledge society. They serve as an unparalleled source of knowledge production, a foundation for modern science, an unequaled generator of talent, and a nearly required path for socioeconomic mobility. But how do we build, nurture, and sustain these crucial institutions? Globalization's Muse helps to answer those questions, informing both policymakers and educators of the profound efforts by governments and institutions, and reminding both groups that in this complex and evolving environment, the United...

California in the Balance: Why Budgets Matter

John Decker
2009

Why is California broke? California in the Balance offers a precise analysis of the Golden State's fiscal condition - from the process used to write the state budget to the reasons for chronic deficits to the possible paths to stability. Here are the details of California's financial woes, laid out step-by-step by one of the state's leading budgetary experts. In a book recommended by both Republicans and Democrats, John Decker makes plain his extraordinary knowledge of California's budget. With a foreword by California Treasurer Bill Lockyer.

The People’s University: A History of the California State University

Donald R. Gerth
2010

Since its founding as a single institution in San Francisco in the years after the Gold Rush, the California State University has grown into a system of 23 campuses that enroll more than 450,000 students. The People’s University is the story of that extraordinary growth. Today, the California State University is the state’s 1,000-mile campus. Its programs reach every corner of the state, and its mission of access, affordability, and quality touches countless people of all ages.

Negotiation Alchemy: Global Skills Inspiring & Transforming Diverging Worlds

Nancy Erbe
2011

Negotiation Alchemy is the result of the author's work with cross ethnic process around the world for over two decades. To date, Professor Erbe's clients, colleagues and students come from about eighty countries, including several war-torn nations. The book presents several case study examples of success using the tools and skills of integrative negotiation and facilitative mediation within multicultural process. Extended case studies are presented of negotiation, conflict resolution and peacebuilding in Cameroon, cross ethnic dialogue in the Balkans, court-mandated mediation in Nepal, and...