The Task Force On Race Relations Recommendations

Author : Richard Temple Middleton
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 682 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (52 download)

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Download or read book Task Forces as Agents of Policy Innovation written by Richard Temple Middleton and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 682 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation provides an analysis into the politics behind improving race relations in local communities through the use of task forces. In investigating three communities with unique cultural, social, economic, and racial characteristics, I provide insight into why certain communities are more likely to realize success in their task forces influencing policymakers to adopt of innovations aimed at improving race relations. Specifically, I demonstrate that in cities such as Madison, Wisconsin, which has a moralistic political culture, places emphasis on governmental accountability, and has a lower level of racial threat, the likelihood of local level actors adopting policies sensitive to race relations is considerably higher than in cities such as Columbia, Missouri (which has a traditionalistic political culture, relatively low level of emphasis on governmental accountability, and moderate level of racial threat) and Kansas City, Missouri (which has an individualistic political culture, low level of emphasis on governmental accountability, and higher level of racial threat). Of paramount importance across all three cases, however, is the existence of some type of crisis (what I call an "environmental shock") that acts as a catalyst for policy makers to adopt the policies recommended by the task forces. These shocks are events that have marked effects on the environments of organizations. The key to understanding shocks is to realize that unless the key policy makers in the city's governing and business institutions recognize them, they are not actual shocks. As such, my underlying thesis is that in communities where an environmental shock exists, local level policy makers will adopt more task force recommendations than will policy makers in cities where an environmental shock is not present.