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In the writing of prefaces for works of this sort, most editors report being faced with similar challenges and have much in common in relating how these challenges are met. They acknowledge that their paramount ob jective is to provide more than an overview of topics but rather to offer selective critical reviews that will serve to advance theory and research in the particular area reviewed. The question of the appropriate audience to be addressed is usually answered by directing material to a potential audience of social scientists, graduate students, and, occasionally, ad vanced undergraduate students. Editors who are confronted with the problem of structuring their material often explore various means by which their social science discipline might be subdivided, then generally conclude that no particular classification strategy is superior. In elabo rating on the process by which the enterprise was initiated, editors typ ically resort to a panel of luminaries, who provide independent support for the idea and then offer both suggestions for topics and the authors who will write them. Editors usually concede that chapter topics and content do not reflect their original conception but are a compromise between their wishes and the authors' expertise and capabilities. Editors report that inevitable delays occur, authors drop out of projects and are replaced, and new topics are introduced. Finally, editors frequently con fess that the final product is incomplete, with gaps occurring because of failed commitments by authors or because authors could not be secured to write certain chapters.
List of contents
1 Epistemology, Methodology, and Method in the Study of Political Behavior.- Alternative Philosophies of Science.- Philosophies of Metascience.- General Strategic Postures: Some Verbal Cartoons.- Postpositivist Research and Theorizing.- Concluding Remarks.- References.- 2 Political Behavior and American Public Policy: The Case of the Political Business Cycle.- The Literature on the Political Business Cycle.- The Example of Transfer Payments.- Who Is Politically Responsible for the Electoral Economic Cycle?.- Congressional Creation of the Electoral Economic Cycle.- Conclusion.- References.- 3 Administrative Behavior.- The Emergence of Program Management.- Program Management: Social Strategy for Societal Development.- Administrative Behavior: Working Face between Management on Behalf of Purposes and the Politics of Social Adaptation.- References.- 4 Interest Groups, Social Conflict, and Public Policy.- Organizations and Social Complexity.- Groups and the Culture of Political Society.- The Focus on Conflict.- The Policy Process.- Conclusions.- References.- 5 Judicial Behavior: Models and Literature of the Field.- Models of Judicial Decision Making.- The Legalistic Model of Judicial Behavior.- Courts as Arenas for Group Politics.- Judicial Behavior.- Decision Theory and Judicial Decisions.- Some Conclusions.- References.- 6 Presidential Behavior.- The President's Environment: Institutional Constraints on Behavior.- Personality and Presidential Behavior.- Conclusion: Presidential Behavior in an Era of Limits.- References.
